Saint Wilfrid's Catholic Church

Preston, Lancashire, England

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The Story of Saint Wilfrid

Through 20 Preston Guilds - a History

Pictures of 1922 Guild Procession

Father 'Daddy' Dunn

Painting is currently on display in the Harris Art Gallery, Preston.

St Wilfrid's Interior 2003 .
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Interior of St Wilfrid's in 1867.
Double click for a larger picture

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Though there are records of Jesuit priests working in Preston from 1701, the first post-reformation Catholic church in Preston was established by Jesuits in 1761, St Mary's in Friargate.

This Church, now demolished, soon became too small and was replaced by St Wilfrid's which was begun in April 1792 and finished 14 months and £4,000 later.
The driving force behind the building of the church was Father (Daddy) Dunn a Jesuit who continued ministering to his flock during the suppression of the Society of Jesus. When the Jesuits were re-established Daddy Dunn decided not to rejoin, though he did accept other Jesuit priests to work with him.

Photo of the pre-1880 St Wilfrid's Church

The first stage of St Wilfrid's was a plain brick edifice with a balcony around three side inside. The photograph on the right, with small windows inserted into large window spaces, seems to suggest that even when it was built, there were plans for the large stained-glass windows that exist today.

It was decided not only that the church needed expanding, but it needed to be grander.
In 1878 a new 'sodality' chapel and confessionals were added and the inside of the church was remodeled. This was finished in 1880. However, though bigger, the church still lacked a little something.

Ten years later stone cladding and terra-cotta and stone carvings were added to the exterior and elaborate marbles from all over Europe were fixed to the interior walls and columns. The final church is quite a magnificent work of art, which after renovations of 1996 still looks fresh and bright.

Over the years the story of St Wilfrid's has been one of disagreements and stress, between priests who wanted to build or knock down or install electric lights and parishioners who were comfortable with the familiar.

Unusually for a Catholic church today, St Wilfrid's was never really re-ordered for the post-Vatican II liturgy. It retains the altar rails and high altar with very little modification.