St Werburgh's Roman Catholic Parish, Chester
Parish History Group
What We Do
The Parish History Group meets once a month at 6pm on a Wednesday evening in the presbytery. The dates of our meetings are listed in the Parish Diary. Our aim is to research the history of the Parish and to share our findings as books and exhibitions.
How you can join us
New members are always welcome, as are volunteers to act as stewards when the church is open for exhibitions, such as Heritage Open Days.
Who to contact
Please email werburgh465@btinternet.com if you are interested in becoming involved with the group either as a member or a volunteer steward.
About the group
The Parish History Group was originally formed as the Great War Group to commemorate the centenary of the beginning of the First World War. We decided that the most fitting approach was to research the lives of St. Werburgh’s parishioners and friends who had lost their lives in that conflict. Our starting point was the existing War Memorial which had been removed from the Church in the 1970s and was found to be incomplete.
In November 2014 and 2015 displays of the material we had discovered were presented in the Church. They were also displayed at Chester History and Heritage, St. Mark’s Church, Bridge Street, Chester.
Our next project was to organise a fitting tribute to the fallen of our Parish to replace the existing War Memorial plaque which was no longer on display. With the help of other members of the Parish it was decided to use wood from old church fittings to produce a new War Memorial and a lectern to display a hand-produced leather-bound copy of the new book.
On 6th November 2018 these were blessed by Bishop Mark at a dedication service, conducted by Bishop Mark and Father Paul Shaw, which was attended by our parishioners, civic dignitaries, representatives of the Irish Embassy, the Australian High Commission and the British Armed Forces.
Research into the first book had made it clear to us there was a lot to discover about the history of the Parish and so work began on a second book to cover the story of St. Werburgh’s before, during and after the Great War.
This resulted in the publication in December 2017 of ‘A War-Torn Chester Parish’, an anthology of 37 articles covering subjects ranging from the lives of parishioners during wartime to the visit of King Alfonso XIII of Spain.
The group was later relaunched as the Parish History Group with a series of talks and guided history walks. We also organise the opening and stewarding of the Church for Heritage Open Days.
The History Group is planning open days during 2025 with displays and artefacts illustrating the history of the Parish. Parishioners are encouraged to offer any photographs or other mementos that would contribute to the display. We also require volunteers to be present in the Church during all opening hours and would be very grateful for any offers of help.
A third book is currently being researched and produced bringing the history of the Parish up to date.
The Parish History Group would like to thank Father Paul Shaw and all the parishioners who have supported us on our journey of discovery. We would also like to thank the many complete strangers who have nevertheless been generous with their time and service to help us in our work.