In the early 1920s Welling was very much a country village. To the north of Bellegrove Road were fields and heathland, and to the south were some orchards. There were very few Catholics living in Welling, and those who did would walk to St. Benet's Church in Abbey Wood to attend Mass. House building began in a modest way at this time due an acute shortage of housing following the 1914-18 war. The bishop instructed Fr. McCarthy, parish priest of St. Patrick's, Plumstead, to negotiate the purchase of a site and build a church.
This church was constructed as a "lock-up" Chapel-of-Ease, only open for Sunday Mass and evening service if the numbers warranted it. The church building was started in May 1923 and was blessed on 19th December. Mass was celebrated for the first time on Christmas Day 1923, but the recognised official opening was on St. Stephen's Day. The total cost of the church was £2,688. The chairs and kneelers were obtained from St. Benet's, Abbey Wood.
In 1935 the Parish Hall was erected alongside the railway and some distance from the church and presbytery which were still at Welling Corner. As the church school roll increased, the hall subsequently housed two classes of Junior children and later, after the sale of the church, it was also used for Mass on Sundays whilst waiting for the new, larger church to be built.
The present church opened in December 1935 and cost £3,375. Mass attendance then was 870. The district continued to grow with 1,000 worshipping on Sundays in 1936.
The interior appearance of the church was somewhat different from that of today. The ceiling was lower and one visiting priest remarked upon the tunnellike appearance. The pulpit had come from the original church and had steps leading to it from behind the pillar next to Our Lady's altar. The sanctuary was separated from the main body of the church by altar rails.
During the war a church in the London area was bombed and soon after the war Fr. Nevatt purchased the damaged organ and part of the organ loft and stairway. The task of building a loft in the present church was undertaken voluntarily by skilled men of the parish. Due to the low ceiling it became necessary to remove it completely exposing the steel girder work and underside of the roof. An organ fund was started for the purpose or repairing the organ and replacing the organ pipes.
As the numbers attending St. Stephen's increased, the size of the church became inadequate, particularly at the 10.30 am Mass, which was the most popular one. The situation was even worse at a special service or at Christmas Midnight Mass. Fr. Nevatt's answer was to build an annex outwards from the Sacred Heart altar and to fit tip-up seats at the end of each bench in the main church.
The co-ords should take you to a blue welcome sign.
There is a telephone number on it. The last 4 digits are ABCD.
The first Sunday service time listed is E.FG.
You are looking for a magnetic 1.5ml container a short walk away at:
N51 27.
B*C
D+F
A*G
E0 6.
B-F
E+D-F
C+D
Puzzle updated 31/7/20 and 9/1/23.
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