Frome Focus: Mells

13 August 2009

This week cliftondiocese.com brings you a short series about our parish in Frome - St Catharine of Alexandria.  ‘Frome Focus’ continues today (13 August) with a visit to St Dominic’s in Mells.

Mass is celebrated every Sunday at 11.30 am in the chapel at Mells.  Set in the grounds of the Manor House at Mells and overlooked by the sixteenth century tower of St Andrew’s Church, St Dominic’s Chapel looks like a remnant from penal times.  From the outside it’s just the stone cross over the door that indicates that it is not a potting shed.  It’s so small that when the congregation exceeds 35 benches are set up outside on the lawn.

The building became a chapel in 1940.  Prior to then it was sleeping quarters for Manor House staff.  The Manor House was owned by the Horner family, members of which had been protestant since the Reformation.  In 1923 the daughter of Sir John and Lady Horner, Katherine, converted to Catholicism after the death of her husband, Raymond Asquith in World War One.  In 1940 Katherine obtained permission to set up the chapel to provide for the pastoral need of evacuees from London and Mells residents unable to travel to Frome because of patrol rationing.   

You can view pictures in our image gallery - just click on any of the small photographs for the full picture.   There are more pictures in our second gallery.

Today’s ‘Frome Focus’ podcast can be downloaded and listen to in the multimedia panel on the right. 

Yesterday’s (12 August) ‘Frome Focus’ was a conversation with Parish Priest Father Joe O’Brien.

Tomorrow’s (14 August) concluding ‘Frome Focus’ sees us talking with Deacon David Brinn about the ministry of permanent deacons.