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History On the 3rd July 1890 the founding father of the Parish, Fr Henry James Hardy acquired ‘Elm Cottage’ in St John’s Rd, Boxmoor and opened a chapel in one of its front rooms.
In 1898 he was able to open a small chapel on the other side of the road and this forms part (the sacristy) of the present church. Elm Cottage (186 St John's Road) continued to serve as a presbytery (with some additions at the back of the building) until 2010. From this presbytery Fr Hardy, travelling by pony and trap, served Mass Centres which he set up in Berkhamsted and Tring as well as what his housekeeper described as his ‘missionary journeys’ to Bovingdon and Dunstable. The house was home to a succession of parish priests and their curates as the parish developed, especially after the 2nd World War when Hemel Hempstead was one of the designated New Towns north of London to which many London based Catholics moved to improve living standards for their families. More recently it became the presbytery for three of the Hemel parishes as Fr John Byrne became the parish priest for St Mark’s and Grovehill as well as Boxmoor. Planning Routine maintenance was carried out intermittently. However, during the last 5 years it became increasingly apparent that the fabric of the original building was deteriorating rapidly and needed major remedial works. The Diocesan authorities recognised the seriousness of the situation and in 2009, after consultations between the parish, Diocesan authorities and technical specialists, it was agreed that nothing less than a completely new start was needed to ensure a cost effective, long term solution. This decision led to much debate and heart searching about the best way forward. Various reconstruction options (including redevelopment of the Church site) were considered and financial calculations made. The Diocese encouraged the three parishes, under Fr John, to think about what was required for the medium/long term future of their communities in Hemel Hempstead. Open meetings took place and parishioners were encouraged to put forward their views. Eventually, a radical solution emerged:
Please click HERE to see the Architects' drawing of the completed Presbytery / Office All concerned took a deep breath before accepting the Diocesan financial proposition which, whilst generous, required a large upfront payment and commitment to repay the Diocesan loan. The immediate generosity of St Mark's and Grovehill parishes was a crucial factor. The key long term financial benefit will be from the two maisonettes, which will be occupied primarily by retired Diocesan clergy, from which the parish will receive rental income. This will provide a reliable income for future generations as well as retaining a major building asset. It is also anticipated that our ’retired neighbours’ will be able to provide a degree of pastoral support to our hard working clergy! Goodbye (sadly) but the new begins to rise We had our last look at the presbytery we had known for so long.
The bulldozers arrived in November 2010 and soon reduced the old buildings to rubble leaving an enormous gap to be filled.
Work on the new foundations commenced and then the weather struck - the coldest, snowiest December for many years! Bricklaying started again after New Year and good progress is now being made.
It is estimated we are about 2 weeks behind schedule (as of early March 2011) but the builder is confident this will be made up and that the completion date in August 2011 can be achieved.
The parish office / store is also going up rapidly and will provide excellent central administration facilities and storage for the Youth and Scout Groups.
Parking Inevitably, the construction site has resulted in the temporary loss of parking facilities and we are appreciative of everyone’s understanding and the help of our neighbours. Fundraising A new Fundraising Committee was formed in June 2010 and a number of social events have already taken place with plenty more planned for 2011. The amount already raised through events, collections and individual donations has reached around £15,000 - truly remarkable and a testament to the support and generosity of our community. Long may it continue! We look forward with anticipation to the new, modern presbytery with spacious private and public accommodation for the Parish priest and visitors and a building which has been designed to complement its village location. FUNDRAISING NEWSLETTER No 2, SUMMER 2011 We are off to a great start with our fundraising for 2011. To date the Events programme and individual donations have produced the following excellent results. EVENTS 1. Special 2nd Collections(1)---------------------------- £569 2. Winetasting Evening----------------------------------- £663 3. Choir Concert-------------------------------------------- £450 4. Marathon Sponsorship------------------------------- £2000+ 5. Swimathon------------------------------------------------- £90 6. KSC Quiz Night------------------------------------------- £500+ 7. Grovehill Ladies Raffle--------------------------------- £100 i.e. £4350 towards our annual target of We also have a further £2850 in individual donations. All this is in
addition to your generosity through
GIFT AID This year’s updated EVENTS CALENDAR which we hope you will continue to support is shown below. NEW IDEAS/VOLUNTEERS—always welcome!! DOING YOUR OWN FUNDRAISING THING? Do tell us! THANKYOU-MERCI-GRATIAS!!
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