St Anne's, Chapel End, Nuneaton facts for kids

The St Anne's Parish is a Roman Catholic church community in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England. It serves the western part of Nuneaton and nearby villages like Coleshill. This parish is part of the larger Archdiocese of Birmingham and the Rugby Deanery. The current priest is Father George.

The main church building, St Anne's, was rebuilt in 2000 and is located on Camp Hill Road in Nuneaton. The St Anne's parish was officially started in 1948. It also includes another church, St Joseph's, in New Arley. Both churches were first built to help the many workers, especially miners, who moved to North Warwickshire with their families after 1920.

How the Churches Started

The Story of St Anne's Church

The St Anne's parish in Chapel End, Nuneaton, began shortly after World War II. This area of Nuneaton was known for its quarrying and mining. At that time, all of Nuneaton was part of the Our Lady of the Angels parish in the town centre.

In the mid-1930s, priests from Our Lady of the Angels started holding church services. They met in a house on Tunnel Road in Galley Common, which was a mining community. About ten years later, they moved their services to the Green Lane Miners’ Hostel in Camp Hill.

Around 1946, the hostel was no longer available. The church community was then offered an old isolation hospital on Windmill Road. This place was not ideal for services. So, after a lot of planning and fundraising, work began on a new church. People even bought bricks for a penny each!

The first stone for the original St Anne's Church was laid on February 19, 1949. This was done by Father Cox, who was the priest from Our Lady of the Angels. On July 13 of the same year, Archbishop Masterson of Birmingham blessed and opened the new building.

The first St Anne's Church was a much-loved building. It was also used as a schoolroom. Eventually, it was time to build a new, modern church. Planning for the rebuilding started, and the news was even shared in local newspapers. While the new church was being built, the priest's house became the weekday church. Sunday services were held in the school hall.

On March 11, 2000, which was a special Jubilee Year, the foundation stone for the new church was blessed. Bishop Philip Pargeter led the blessing, with hundreds of church members and guests present. Children from the school provided music for the event.

The new church was ready to use a little while later. Archbishop Vincent Nichols, who was then the Archbishop of Birmingham, blessed it during a special service on November 11, 2000. It was a very happy day, marking the end of many years of planning and building work for the parish.

The Story of St Joseph's Church

The village of Arley was once part of the Bedworth parish. In the 1920s, Canon Wall began holding church services in different houses in the village. By the mid-1920s, coal mining brought many new workers to Arley, especially from northern England. The village grew quickly.

A piece of land was bought, and with help from the community, a wooden church was built. In the summer of 1926, a procession walked from the Arley Cricket ground to St Joseph's Church. This event marked the opening of the new church. By 1928, it was normal to have about two dozen people at services.

During World War II, the church was used less often. People went to services in Nuneaton or Bedworth instead. After the war, things improved. Several assistant priests from Nuneaton and Bedworth looked after the Catholic community in Arley. At that time, St Joseph's also had a hall that became a lively place for social events.

In 1959, St Joseph's and the surrounding area became part of the St Anne's parish in Chapel End. Over the years, this parish, with its two churches, grew larger. A parish school was started, and many priests cared for the church community.

The old St Joseph's Church started to fall apart, so replacing it became a top priority. After the old building was taken down, services were held at the Arley WMC (Working Men's Club) for a while. The foundation stone for the new St Joseph's Church was blessed on December 12, 1996. Archbishop Maurice Couve de Murville of Birmingham led the blessing. Many church members and guests were there, including the architect and the builder of the new church.

Schools

The parish has its own school, St Anne's Catholic Primary School. It was started in the 1960s and moved to its current location in 1968. This school is a voluntary aided school. This means that both the Warwickshire County Council and the Archdiocese of Birmingham help run it.

St Anne's is a "feeder school" for St. Thomas More Secondary School & Sixth Form in Nuneaton. This means that many students from St Anne's go on to attend St. Thomas More. St. Thomas More is actually in the neighbouring parish of Our Lady of the Angels.