Directory

Church name:

Our Lady of the Rosary

Parish Priest:

Rev Cosmas Ikirodah MSP

Address:

12 Kingsweston Lane, Lawrence Weston, Bristol BS11 0QU

County:

Bristol

Parish date:

(1953; cons 7 October 1978)

Deanery:

Bristol North West

Parish history:
The housing estate at Lawrence Weston was developed by the City Council to ease the housing shortage after the 1939–1945 war. The estate covers the area between Shirehampton and Henbury. The few Catholics who lived in the area before the war were in the parish of St.Bernard, Shirehampton, and it was from the parish of StBernard, Fr(later Canon) Leahy, that the first moves were made to provide a church at Lawrence Weston. In 1951 a site was purchased at the junction of Tide Grove and Kingsweston Lane which cost £1,000. Bishop Rudderham laid the foundation stone of the new church on 16 July 1952, the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Current building regulations meant that the original building consisted only of the nave and side aisles, with accommodation for 300. The sanctuary, tower and side chapels were added in 1957–58. By that time Our Lady of the Rosary Primary School had been opened close to the church. A community of Missionary Sisters, the Servants of the Holy Ghost, had established a convent close to the school in which members of the community taught. By 1958 the church had been completed at a cost of £14,000. In October 1959 the Diocesan Trustees purchased a 3.7-acre site, close to the church, on the opposite side of Long Cross, for the provision of a Catholic comprehensive school. This was possible because of the competitive price of land in the area. In 1961 work began on the building of the new school, dedicated to St Bede. In spite of draining problems on the site, St.Bede’s admitted its first pupils in September 1963, and church and civic dignitaries attended the official opening ceremony, in May 1964.

Extract from 'The Diocese of Clifton 1850 – 2000' by Rev Dr J A Harding the Diocesan Archivist, available from the 'Books' section of this site.

Sunday Mass:

11.00 am

Holy Days:

9.30 am

7.30 pm

Weekdays:

See church notices

Confessions:

Saturday 10.30 am to 11.00 am and on request

Convents:

Missionary Sisters, Servants of the Holy Spirit, Kingsweston Lane, Bristol BS11 0QU. Tel: 0117 982 2431

Schools:

Our Lady of the Rosary Primary School, Tide Grove, Lawrence Weston, Bristol BS11 0PA. Tel: 0117 903 0025

St Bede’s Catholic College, Lawrence Weston, Bristol BS11 0SU. Tel: 0117 377 2200

Tel:

0117 982 3380

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