Parish History

Explore our rich history and service times at St Hilda's.

Early Years of Our Parish

1) Impact of the Reformation. After the upheavals of the Reformation in 16th century England, the parish church of Whitby, St Mary the Virgin on the East Cliff, passed into the ownership of the Church of England. It continues to be the Mother Church of the town. Gradually the town grew, and more religious provision was made, Methodist, Congregational, Unitarian, Quaker. But Catholicism was illegal until the first Emancipation Act of 1788, when it became possible for Mass to be said publicly, and for chapels to be erected, provided such actions were done without excessive show.

In the 1790s, as a consequence of the French Revolution and the period known as ‘The Terror’ when the guillotine was in frequent and indiscriminate use, many Catholic religious and clergy fled France. Many landed in England, possibly over 5,000, and a great number came to the North. Often they did little more than to assist the local priest or teach the Classics and French; sometimes they were not allowed to do anything. But in the Yorkshire coastal area several new missions were established or strengthened by the arrival of a French priest.

2) Arrival of French Missionaries.

In June 1794 Father Jean Francois Richenet arrived in our town, and began to minister, baptise, and to say Mass in rooms belonging to various parishioners. He probably earned his living by teaching. A member of the Congregation of the Mission, founded by St Vincent de Paul, in 1799 he went to China, before returning to Paris where he lived his last twenty years, dying in 1836. Richenet’s successors, Jean Pierre Gabriel Gondouin, was also a missionary; he lived in Whitby from 1800 to 1803.

Fr Nicolas Alain Gilbert, a secular priest from Brittany, arrived in Whitby in 1803 and set about raising funds to build a permanent home for his community, by then at least 150 strong. In April 1805 our first chapel opened, on the street behind the present church and directly behind the new presbytery. This served until 1867 when the church opened, and was then used as a schoolroom and a clubroom. It was partly demolished and absorbed into the presbytery in 1958.

3) Planning for the New Church

The chapel was said to hold 300 but soon proved too small, as the congregation grew rapidly. Plans were commissioned from the great architect Augustus Pugin, to replace the chapel and house, extending down to the road, but this was not progressed. The opportunity came to buy the large garden plot next door, and in 1862 Father Glover began serious fundraising for a new church here.

The church took about 18 months to build, and a further 25 years to complete most of the decoration. To purchase land, build and decorate two places of worship in so short a time was no small achievement, especially as there was no single benefactor. In 1981 the former garage behind the church was converted into meeting and committee rooms. It was extended in 1991 and updated in 2005 when a downstairs toilet and kitchen were installed. This is now the social hub of the parish. In December 1997 part of the plaster ceiling of the church gave way, and we left the church for two years while remedial work was undertaken. The meeting room became a weekday chapel, and for larger services we used St John's Anglican church across the road.