Our church in Saffron Walden was established in 1906. Five years earlier Charles Rose Chase, an Anglican clergyman, had been received into the Catholic Church and ordained a Catholic priest. He founded the Catholic Missionary Society at Willesden between 1901 and 1906 - the year he bought the 15th century property in Saffron Walden, known as "The Close",  at the corner of Castle Street and High Street. The 15th century barn of this property, which had been used as a stable (and may also at some time have been a tithe barn for the nearby parish church of  St Mary), was converted into the present church with funds provided by the Missionary Society and opened to worship in late 1906. Up until then the nearest Catholic churches had been in Bishops Stortford and Cambridge. Father Charles' interest in the area arose from the fact that he had been received into the Church by the Redemptorist Fathers at Bishops Stortford.

Father Charles continued his close connection with the new parish until he died two years later. The Missionary Society provided priests until 1930 when the Spanish Vincentian Fathers took charge. They remained in Saffron Walden until 1948, since when the church has been under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Brentwood. During the time of the Vincentians the existing presbytery was built and an old laundry was restored and converted into the parish hall. This was later sold to the Pentecostal Church which used it for their worship. The rest of "The Close", which had for a time been a convent for girls, was also sold. 

History, in 1999, turned full circle when the Pentecostalists moved to a larger site and, under the present parish priest, Father John Garrett, we reacquired the building and it has once again became our Parish Hall. During 2004/5 a major restoration of the church was carried out. Pictures of the how the church looked prior to this work can be seen below.

Whilst over the years, every effort has been made to retain the original character of this ancient building (a Grade 2 listed barn), it is first and foremost,  a vibrant living church. Further pictures can be found by clicking here.

The above brief history is based on Margaret Dornan's splendid book "A Short History of the Catholic Parish Church of Our Lady of Compassion Saffron Walden" and on an article by Beatrice Goldie published in the Newport News in 1981.

In the latest edition (2007) of Pevsner's The Buildings of England - Essex, the entry for the church reads: "OUR LADY OF COMPASSION (RC.); Castle Street. Converted in 1906 from a C16 barn. Short brick tower with pyramidal spire, porch and cloister by Hibbs & Walsh Associates, 2004-5, with reordered sanctuary by Antony Delaure Associates."