The Diocese of Brentwood’s cathedral church has been awarded listed status in a Government move to preserve the distinctive architecture of the building.
The Cathedral Church of St Mary and St Helen, commonly known as Brentwood Cathedral, was listed at Grade II by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) on Thursday, July 14.
The cathedral consists of a recent section built in the “classical” style and inspired by Sir Christopher Wren’s designs that was opened in 1991 and an older section built in the gothic style from 1860 to 1861.
The first Catholic church on the site opened in 1837. In 1917, a successor building was made the cathedral of the new diocese of Brentwood. In the late 1980s, an anonymous donation enabled the cathedral to be rebuilt.
The bishop who commissioned the new design, the Right Rev Thomas McMahon, Bishop Emeritus of Brentwood, said his choice of style reflected a desire to reflect the reforms of Vatican II: “I was a great admirer of the Christopher Wren churches in London…I felt such a style could be adapted for the renewed liturgy of Vatican II and offer a noble simplicity.”
Bishop McMahon’s instruction to the architect, Quentin Terry, specified a central altar space that would allow for “maximum congregational participation”.
Grade II, the most common category of listed building, officially recognises and applies regulations to protect the unique or historically significant characteristics of the building in question.
While Brentwood is far from the only Catholic cathedral in the country to receive listed status, as the first Cathedral built in the classical style since London’s St Pauls was completed in 1710, it has an architectural as well as a religious significance.
Brentwood diocese covers nearly 4000 square kilometres and 82 parishes, of which 47 are in London.
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