St Ethelbert's Church, Ramsgate facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Ethelbert's Church |
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| The Catholic Church of Ss Ethelbert & Gertrude | |
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 St Ethelbert's Church
Location in Kent
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| 51°20′23″N 1°25′29″E / 51.3396°N 1.4248°E | |
| Location | Ramsgate, Kent |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Website | http://www.saintethelberts.com/ |
| Architecture | |
| Style | Gothic architecture |
| Years built | 1901 - 1902 |
| Groundbreaking | June 1901 |
| Completed | 17 August 1902 |
| Specifications | |
| Length | 80 feet (24 m) |
| Width | 30 feet (9.1 m) |
| Administration | |
| Parish | Ramsgate and Minster |
| Deanery | Thanet |
| Archdiocese | Southwark |
Dedicated to Saints Ethelbert and Gertrude, St Ethelbert's Church is a Roman Catholic church on Hereson Road in Ramsgate, Kent, England. Designed by Peter Paul Pugin, the church was built by W. W. Martin and Sons of Ramsgate and is the Catholic parish church.
History
St Ethelbert’s was built with the financial patronage of Frances Elizabeth Ellis (1846-1930), whose inheritance from her father enabled her to devote her life to founding churches, hospitals, hospices, orphanages and nursing homes. The church's cornerstone was laid in June 1901, and it was completed on 17 August 1902. Joseph Power, OSB, was the church's first priest.
On the afternoon of Friday, 23 May 1980, 88-year-old parish priest Edward Hull, OSB, and Ethel Maude Lelean (his housekeeper for 27 years) were killed in the presbytery. Hull, a Royal Air Force chaplain during World War II, was the former headmaster of the Abbey School then at Westgate. Henry John Gallagher, aged 29, was convicted of the double manslaughter (not murder, owing to diminished responsibility) and sent to Broadmoor Hospital.
The presbytery, which pre-dated the church, was subsequently demolished and rebuilt by architect and parishioner Robin Carter.
In the late 2000s, four Catholic parishes which covered the south west of Thanet were merged into one. In February 2009 this was named the Parish of Ramsgate and Minster, with St Ethelbert's as the parish church. In 2010, the Benedictine Monks of St Augustine’s Abbey voted to leave their Ramsgate monastery in the parish. The church which had been used as the Abbey Church was designated the Shrine of St Augustine in March 2012, and is of particular interest through its founder and designer Augustus Pugin. Fr Marcus Holden was the first Rector of the Shrine of St Augustine and served as Parish Priest from 2010-2018. The current Rector of the shrine and Parish Priest is Fr Christopher Basden.
See also
