The Original Church | Parish Of Clayton | Church Extension | Parish Priests

Current Arrangments | The Community | Parish Hall

The Original Church
The original church was built around 1957-58 and the founding parish priest was Father Johnson. The church building was originally a parish hall and co-existed with the house and the school. The church then acted in several roles. Behind a screen was an area used for mass where the rest of the hall was used either for teaching or other functions.

The Parish Of Clayton
The parish of Clayton was very small and weekly mass was held at Father Johnson's house and on Sunday, in the conservatory at the Clayton Lodge Hotel.

The Church Extension
The extension of the church was carried out during the time of Father Malcolm Glaze and involved extending the church from its parish hall status, although there had been a plan for building a church from scratch and keeping the then parish hall as it was. The extension brought about most of what is present in Church today including the crucifix, some of the statues, the altar and the bench seating. Father Malcolm Glaze commissioned the crucifix and statue of St Werburgh, which were carved out of wood. The statues of Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus at the back of church were formerlly at the City General Hospital and were given when the hospital chapel was closing. The altar and lectern were cut out of stone and donated to the church. The niche where the statue of St Josphen now stands was empty for a time; Father Malcom Glaze had planned to a carving of the holy family in this space, but funds were not available. The stature of St Joseph was donated by the Sisters of Mercy and came from St Bernard's Convent, Newcastle-under-Lyme, when Father Anthony Rohan was parish priest.

Parish Priests
The founding parish priest for the church was Father F. Johnson and he served the parish for twenty years. Father W. McGann took over in 1975 and served the parish until 1980. Father Plunkett Shannon then served the parish from 1980 until 1985, Father Pat Gilsenan from 1985 until 1990, Father Malcolm Glaze from 1990 to 1996, and Father Anthony Rohan from 1996 to 1999, and Father Simon Stephens from 1999 until October 2003. Our current priest is Father Stephen Fawcett who also serves the parish of Our Lady and St John the Baptist, Ashley. Pictures of parish priests >>

Current arrangements
The current arrangement of the school and the church being on the same campus is a rare thing and very convenient for both the school and church as there are opportunities for cooperation between them. The original community was small back when the church was founded. It served the area of Clayton and continues to do so.

The Community
Over the years the community has grown with the development of the area around Clayton such as the new housing at Westbury Park and houses on Seabridge, Seabridge Park and Hawthorn Rise. The Church today has changed since it was originally built with the extension from its parish hall status to church, as described above, and the addition of the parish hall next door.

The Parish Hall
The present parish hall was originally two donated mobile huts, which were joined together.
These were later modified with foundations and bricks. It has been worked on over the years and refurbished by the Princes Trust in 2004 to enhance the current facilities available.