ST. WILFRID’S 1917 – 1946
The 1st. and 2nd. Churches at St. Wilfrid’s

1917.

Sometime before this date, it was discovered that a parcel of land adjacent to Hailsham Railway Station, was, in fact, in Catholic ownership. On July 20, the Diocesan Financial Secretary wrote to Mgr Cocks, informing him that this land would be made available for a future church, so prompting the question that this site could be developed.

November 1920.

In the Register kept at Our Lady of Ransom, the earliest Hailsham baptism noted is that of Herbert James Medhurst, November 13, 1920.

December 1920.

The South Road plot was eventually transferred to the Southwark Diocese on December 23, 1920.  Legal charges amounted to £14 3s 4d, met by Our Lady of Ransom, who also contributed £50 towards the purchase price.  The Diocese lent the remaining £500 at 5%, from money that had recently become available from the Joyce bequest.

This action turned Mgr Cocks attention to erecting a church. Initially, once the scheme became public knowledge, local objections were raised, but soon died down.

August 1922.

The first church of St Wilfrid (without a solemn opening), was opened and its first Mass celebrated, on August 12, 1922.  Designed by Fr Alexis Hauber, its dimensions were small: 30 feet long, by 15  feet wide,  eventual cost was £701.10. 3d. Previously, Mass was said in a room at the brewery in Battle Road. Priest-in-charge at Hailsham, was  Father Alexander Trew, who, on September 5, 1923, applied to the Registrar General  for St Wilfrid’s to be registered as a place of worship.

  

                                                     The Brewery, Battle Road

       

                                  Interior – the first St. Wilfrid’s Church

   

                           Exterior – the first St. Wilfrid’s Church

December 1922.

By the first Sunday in December 1922, four months after opening, the Mass attendance was 29.  It rose to 48 at Easter 1923, in 1925 the figures attained 56, and reached 70 in 1926.

June 1924.

On June 8, 1924, Father Trew was moved to Sittingbourne and died Parish Priest of Norbury on February 17, 1938. Father Brendan Byrne took his place here in Eastbourne. From about March 1928 to April 1934, Father Walter Quinlan (later Canon) took charge of the Hailsham part of the parish and, as the work increased, so a parish car was purchased.

After him, Father Peter Tak looked after the area till February 1940, when he was replaced by Father Michael Frost, who in his turn was succeeded in 1950 by Father Michael Keane.

The 1930s.

During this decade Mgr Cocks (Parish Priest of Our Lady of Ransom) was succeeded in 1930 by Father James Walters, (later Canon). Father Walters instigated the first Midnight Mass in Hailsham in 1935, and in the previous year, 1934, located the plot of land upon which St George’s church in Polegate was built. However, Father Walters was moved on in December 1935, just before completion of the land’s purchase, and was replaced by Father John James Corballis in January 1936. It was he who built St George’s Church, Polegate, completed in December 1938.  Following Father Corballis’ arrival, thanks to his and a Miss Hayne’s generosity, the little church in Hailsham saw many improvements. Electric light, heating and a new Altar were installed, a sacristy and confessional built and a statue of St Joseph was given by the Rector. Miss Hayne donated two sets (white and purple) of full Roman Vestments, a statue of St Wilfrid and a new chalice. Also in this decade, a number of legacies were left to St Wilfrid’s, that in turn help form the nucleus of the present day church.  In September 1939, war was declared on Germany.

The War Years 1939-45.

The Blessed Sacrament was removed for safety’s sake, and because of the number of evacuees, Mass figures rose that necessitated the hiring of the Summerheath Hall for Mass. In the Eastbourne Notice Books there is mention of two Sunday Masses here from October 1939. The first Confirmation in Hailsham was on Sunday July 5, 1942.

POST WAR YEARS

After the war, Mass was resumed in the old church, but before that, the accommodation had become so inadequate, that two Masses had to be said on Sundays. The overcrowding was now worse.  Father Frost managed to persuade Canon Corballis to agree to sanction the erection of a hut adjacent to the church to enable the congregation to be served by one Mass. This led to the purchase of a cheap Nissan hut by Father Frost at a local auction. The Hailsham Rural District Council sanctioned its use for a five-year period only, extended on February 7, until December 31, 1955.  The first Mass was said here on Rosary Sunday 1946, and permission was also granted for the erection of the Stations of the Cross on September 23 of that year.

                      The 5-year Nissan Hut – St. Wilfrid’s temporary church

October 1950.

On October 10, 1950, a branch of the Union of Catholic Mothers was founded with 18 females attending the first meeting.  Mrs Yates, Mrs Le Riche and Mrs Deacon were elected President, Secretary and Treasurer respectively.  With no resident priest, this organisation helped to hold the parish together. On December 17, 1950, Bishop Cowderoy celebrated Mass at Hailsham during his visitation of the Eastbourne parish.