Part 1: 1930-1985
1930-1943
The Parish of Our Lady of Peace started from a very small beginning on Feb. 23rd. 1930 when Fr. Kay from Slough said Mass at 9.30 a.m. in the Council Room in Burnham, there were about 68 men, woman and children present. The people of Bumham were delighted to have Mass in their village, and were willing to help in any way. By 1933, however, more accommodation was needed for the growing congregation, so Mr. Harold McKenna gave permission for Mass to be celebrated in "Fairfield." In September 1935 a wooden structure with the capacity of about 80 was erected on the Haymill Estate, at a cost of just over £500. The new Church of St. Lawrence was blessed and consecrated by Mgr. Smith of Beaconsfield, assisted by Father Brennan. For this first Mass in a Catholic Church in Burnham there was a large congregation, and there were regular services held at the church from that time onwards. It was served from Beaconsfield. The Blessed Sacrament was reserved for the first time in October, and Benediction was given on the first Sunday of the month in a ciborium, as there was not enough money available to buy a monstrance.
On Ash Wednesday in 1936, the Stations ofthe Cross were erected by Fr. Brennan, delegated by the Bishop, and from the first Sunday of Lent Benediction was given every Sunday at 3PM preceded by Catechism for the children. The congregation at that time numbered about 60, and there were some convens under instruction. A priest came on Friday evenings to meet anyone who wished to see him. The first Jumble Sale took place in October, and this realised £22-0-10. The congregation continued to work hard for the Parish, and some of the men painted the Church in preparation for Easter 1937 During this year the debt was reduced by £100, the people were enthusiastic to see their little Church clear of debt.
The Parish continued to increase and by 1940 one Mass was not sufficient, so there were three Masses from March 3rd Fr. Brennan took up residence during this year, but as there was no house available, he took rooms in the house of Mr. & Mrs Rix in Burnham High Street. He stayed there for 14 months. By this time the population had grown considerably due to war work. It was during this year that the priest and congregation received a shock when a letter arrived from the Diocese, informing them that they owed £780-15-0, for the 13.25 acres of land on which the Church stood. The sum had been borrowed previously from the Diocese.
1943-1954
By 1943 the Church was becoming too small, and after the necessary permission was given, the work began on the extension to the existing building, a sanctuary and sacristy in brick was added. In February of this year a Convent School, (Holy Child Convent, St. Leonards) took up residence locally. As they were without a chaplain, they were served from Burnham. During this time the nuns were a considerable help in the Parish, including providing a choir each Sunday for the eleven o'clock Mass. The following year the extension was blessed by Bishop Parker of Northampton and Mass was celebrated. The Bishop also confirmed 3 Italian prisoners of war. An altar of marble from the battlefields of Sienna was given to the Parish. During this year a workers' hostel was opened in Burnham, and was inhabited by mostly by Irish boys and girls, who provided a lot of help in the Parish, both socially and practically.
Work was started on building a presbytery, and by May 1946 it was completed, and the priest took up residence in it. The parishioners now felt the need of a Parish Hall, so men from the Parish dug the foundations. They worked Saturday and Sunday nights throughout the winter, spring and early Summer. The opening was fixed for June 26th 1948, although the Hall was not completed. Fr. Denis Brennan left the Parish for Corby on August 10th 1948, and Father Noel Burditt came to succeed him.
In 1950 the presbytery was enlarged to accommodate another priest, since the number of parishioners had increased, and it was necessary to accommodate a second priest. At about this time the district of Bourne End (part of the parish of Marlow) was temporarily placed under the care of the Burnham clergy.
1954-1963
In 1954 Fr. Burditt started the first serious endeavours to build a permanent and adequate church. Once again the men of the Parish set to work, they cleared the site, dug all the foundations, and finally mixed over 180 tons of concrete and laid it with steel reinforcements. The foundation-stone was laid by the Bishop on March 30th 1957, the Church was blessed and Pontifical High Mass was celebrated on February 11th 1958. In 1958 the wooden Church of St. Lawrence, which had served the Parish for 23 years was demolished, and the site was given to the Sisters of St. Mary of Namur, and the Convent of St. Joseph was built there. Some of the nuns taught in Our Lady of Peace Middle School, and St. Joseph's Secondary School.
By July 1962, the debt for the new Church had been paid four years since the church was opened. On September 12 of this year it was consecrated under the protection of Our Lady of Peace, by Bishop Parker, assisted by Bishop Grant. Also during 1962 the first ordination took place when Father Stephen Reith was ordained to the priesthood on March 18th. Father Burditt left Burnham to go to St. Ethelberts, Slough. Father David Woodard replaced him.
Assistant priests during Fr. Burditt's term as Parish priest were as follows: Fr. Francis Macon, 1948-1953, Fr. George McCann, 1953-1958. Fr. Neville McClement, 1959 - 1963.
1963-1975
In 1963 the first annual progress of St Edmund Campion's relic from Lydford Grange to Tyburn took place. Father Nicholas Lash joined the parish, and he started a series of talks on the progress of the Vatican Council. In December 1963, after looking for some time for a separate Mass centre in Cippenham, Fr. Woodard started to say Mass in the Scout Hut in Mallard Drive on Sunday mornings. A great amount was done by the priests in the ecumenical field, and their relationship with the non Catholic clergy in the Burnham area led to the formation of the "Fraternal of Slough Clergy." From this came the start of the Slough and District Christian Council.
During the Vatican Council, not only did Nicholas Lash give his weekly talks on its progress, but there were also periodic meetings to discuss the implementing of the decrees. In 1966 the Polish priests started to say a Mass in the Scout Hut. At this time progress was being made towards the building of a Shared Church in Washington Drive in Cippenham. The meetings continued for four years, but eventually in November 1970 St. Andrews Shared Church was opened.
Because the numbers of children in the school had been increasing, two extra classrooms had to be built. The overcrowding continued to be a problem, so in 1968 it was decided to use the side-aisle of the Church as an annexe for the school. The Hall was used as a canteen for their lunches. At first there was one class, but then two classes of children did their schooling for five years in the church. Also in 1968 Bishop Parker gave permission for the priests to say mass in the chapel in Taplow Hospital instead of the Social Hall, thereafter Mass was said there on Sunday evenings and Holy Days.
After considerable anxiety about the purchase of the land, the Middle School eventually was constructed, and was opened and blessed on October 21st 1975. This meant that the inside of the church could be decorated, and the construction of the new organ could begin. This instrument had been purchased, when the Carmelites of Gerrards Cross no longer wanted it. To enable the parish to be able to buy the organ, Fr. Woodard cycled to Rome as an observance of Holy Year, and to raise money by being sponsored. He raised £2,000 in this way.
1976-1985
Since 1971 the priests had been running a course for prospective Deacons, this ran for three years. Bishop Grant the instituted some ofthe men as Lectors in 1973, Bishop Clark some as Acolytes and Lectors in 1974, and in 1976 four men were made Deacons. During the years there had been several ordinations to the priesthood. The convent next to the church now belonged to the Sisters of the Sacred Heart, and was used as a retirement home for the elderly sisters. For several years Laud~ and Mass on weekday mornings were held in the convent chapel, frequently followed by coffee and a friendly chat with the sisters. During these years we had visiting priests to stay from France, Italy or Spain. There were some who proved to be extremely loyal, and returned year after year, notably among them is Fr. Luciano Albanese.
After a great deal of discussion, the piece of land behind the church was put on the market and sold for housing in 1980. This led to the demolition of the Hall and the building of eleven houses, called St. Michael's Court. By 1984 Fr. Woodard was left to manage Burnham and Cippenham on his own. Since May 1974 he had also been responsible for saying Mass for the Catholic boys of Eton, but by Christmas of this year he was relieved ofthis, and in March 1985 the Canadian Memorial Hospital finally closed down. In July 1985 Fr. Woodard was asked to move to Oundle, and Fr. Tim Russ took his place.
Assistant priests during Fr. Woodard's time in Burnham; Fr. Nicholas Lash, 1963-1968 Fr Patrick McDermott, 1966-1971, Fr. Charles Crawford, 1968-1977. Fr. Liam Brady, 1974-1983. Fr. Patrick Mc.Aleenan 1977-1978. Fr. John Fleming, 1978-1980. Fr. Roger Edmunds, 1983 - 1984.
Click here to read Parish History - Part 2: 1985-2000 | Start of page. ↑
