St Pancras Church, Ipswich facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Pancras, Ipswich |
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| Saint Pancras | |
Saint Pancras Church
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 St Pancras, Ipswich
Location in Ipswich
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| 52°03′20.7″N 1°09′31.8″E / 52.055750°N 1.158833°E | |
| Location | Ipswich, Suffolk |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Weekly attendance | 500 |
| History | |
| Status | Active |
| Founded | 1861 |
| Dedication | Saint Pancras of Rome |
| Architecture | |
| Heritage designation | Grade II |
| Designated | 6 April 1988 |
| Architect(s) | George Goldie |
| Architectural type | Victorian Gothic |
| Administration | |
| Deanery | Ipswich Deanery |
| Diocese | Roman Catholic Diocese of East Anglia |
Saint Pancras is a Roman Catholic church in Ipswich, England. It's an active church, meaning people still go there for services. This church was built in a style called Neo-Gothic, which means it looks like old churches from the Middle Ages. It was built during a time when the Catholic Church was growing again in Britain in the 1800s.
Building the Church
Most of the money to build St Pancras Church came from the will of L'Abbé Louis Simon. Abbé Simon was a French priest who came to Ipswich in 1793. He was escaping the French Revolution. He became the first Catholic priest to hold regular services in Ipswich since the time of the Reformation. Abbé Simon came from a noble family in France. He sold land he inherited to help pay for building churches in Ipswich, his new home.
The church was designed by George Goldie. He was a well-known Catholic architect. Some people believe Goldie might have planned for St Pancras to become a much bigger church. Perhaps it was meant to be a cathedral for a future Catholic diocese of East Anglia.
At first, St Pancras and the area around it were part of another Catholic church's area. This was St Mary's, Woodbridge Road in the Diocese of Northampton. St Pancras Church was officially opened by the Bishop of Northampton, Francis Amherst. A very important speaker, Cardinal Manning, gave the sermon at the opening.
Church History
Two years after the church opened, in 1863, St Pancras faced some challenges. There were public disturbances during Guy Fawkes night. The church's priest had to stay inside the presbytery (the priest's house) for two days for safety. The Mayor of Ipswich had to call in 200 special police officers to stop the unrest. Even though these events were difficult, they actually helped the church. Many local important people started to feel more sympathy for the church and the Catholic community.
In 1871, St Pancras became its own separate church area, called a parish. For the first ten years, it was looked after by the Pallottines, a group of priests from Italy. Later, in 1885, St Pancras joined with St Mary's again. This time, St Pancras became the main church for the combined parish because it was more central in town.
In 1919, St Mary's became a separate parish once more. St Pancras used to serve the areas of Old Stoke and the Chantry Estate in Ipswich. However, these areas later became part of a new parish, Saint Mark's. In the 1940s, St Pancras became a central place for the Polish community in Ipswich. Later, the St Mary's parish became the main place for the Polish community.
In 1976, St Pancras and all other Catholic churches in Suffolk moved to a new church region. This new region was called the Diocese of East Anglia. On Christmas Day in 1985, the church was badly damaged by a fire. This meant that the choir area and the organ had to be rebuilt.
Church Design and Features
St Pancras is a grade II listed building. This means it's an important historical building. It is built with red bricks and has a slate roof.
The main altar is at the east end of the church. Behind the altar, there are special decorated screens called reredos. Above these screens are five large statues. These statues show Jesus Christ with the Four Evangelists (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). To the north of the main altar is a small area called the Lady chapel. It has a beautiful marble altar with flowers carved into it. On this altar, there is a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The tabernacle, which holds the Eucharist, is right behind the main altar. A Victorian lamp hangs from the ceiling between the main altar and the Lady Chapel.
The choir loft is at the west end of the church. It was mostly rebuilt in the 1980s after the fire in 1985. The church organ is in the choir loft. This organ was built in 1891 and has two keyboards, called manuals. At the back of the choir loft, there is a large, modern stained glass rose window. It shows the Holy Spirit coming down. An Ipswich artist named Danielle Hopkinson finished this window for the Millennium.
Below the choir loft, behind decorative iron gates, is a Caen stone baptismal font. There are also two war memorials here. One is a marble plaque put up in 1922. It remembers the Catholics from Ipswich who died in the First World War. The other is a painted copy of the icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa. This was given by the crew of a Polish armoured train C who were stationed in Ipswich during the Second World War.
The main part of the church, called the nave, and the area around the altar, called the sanctuary, are built in the Venetian style. This means the arches are made with alternating red and white bricks. The inside of the church used to have many colors. Now, it is mostly painted white. The church has an elaborate wooden roof and the wooden pews are original.
To the west of the church is the presbytery, which is the priest's house. There is also a small parish garden with a copy of the statue of Our Lady of Ipswich. A parish center was built in the 1970s. The original presbytery was built in the 1700s. It was later taken down to make way for a road widening project by Ipswich Borough Council.
Images for kids
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Saint Pancras Church
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An interlaced "S" and "P" from an original front pew from the 1860s
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Main altar with reredos and statues of Christ and the Four Evangelists
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Memorial to the Catholics of Ipswich who died in the First World War
