Hidden Gem

Maurice Quinn on Our Lady of Marnhull

The little Church of Our Lady, pleasantly tucked away down a leafy lane in the Dorset village of Marnhull, is a true hidden gem of English Catholicism. Country walkers on their way down Old Mill Lane heading towards open fields and the picturesque River Stour, pass by this humble stone structure often without a second glance other than to remark on the adjacent pretty little cemetery, or the accompanying birdsong that orchestrates the morning air.

From an architectural perspective Our Lady’s would be ignored by the connoisseur of fine buildings, but its very humility was – and still is – a testament of true Christian living not to be viewed fleetingly as by the passing walker, but to be experienced. One must open the door and step inside, walk up the worn and uneven flagstone floor, kneel down before Our Lord in the Tabernacle, visit His Mother, light a candle and pray to ‘Our Lady of Many Gifts’ for the souls of those who kept the faith in this part of Dorset.

The Marnhull Mission had its roots in the patronage of the Hussey family, Lords of the Manor, who became staunchly Catholic in the 1660s. The Husseys played a crucial role in the early foundation of the Mission, continuing as benefactors of land and finance until the latter end of the 19th century. It was Fr Thomas Cornforth, who arrived in 1725, who built a presbytery at Marnhull in Old Mill Lane, with provision for celebrating Mass for about twenty or thirty people. Fr Cornforth died in 1748 at the age of seventy, after having served the Marnhull Mission for twenty-three years. The present parish of Marnhull is in a direct line from Fr Cornforth’s foundation, being the oldest of its kind in the Plymouth diocese. Before this foundation, local Catholics were served by chaplains from Nash Court and by visiting clergy.

'The present parish of Marnhull is in a direct line from Fr Cornforth’s foundation, being the oldest of its kind in the Plymouth diocese. Before this foundation, local Catholics were served by chaplains from Nash Court and by visiting clergy'

A number of priests then served Marnhull from 1786, including three Jesuits, one Franciscan, and three Benedictines, one of whom, Dom Edward Hussey OSB, was a member of the local Hussey family of Nash Court. When Fr Casey arrived in 1824, he set about building a church dedicated to Our Lady that was blessed and used for the first time in 1832, and a school.

It is particularly moving to discover that Fr Casey penned a devotional hymn to Our Lady of Marnhull that is still sung in the parish today. The first verse, also doubling up as the last, is particularly appropriate, especially as it encapsulates perfectly the soul of this little Dorset church:

Deep amid the dales of Dorset, Stands our lowly little Shrine, Cast Thy glance of love upon it, Gentle Lady, Make it Thine.

Fr Casey served this busy rural haven of faith for forty-three years, and after his death in 1873, a stained-glass window made by Drake of Exeter depicting Our Lord as the Good Shepherd was placed in the sanctuary behind the altar in his memory. Complementing this window are the two ‘Trinity’ windows on the north and south walls of the sanctuary made by Lusson of Paris in 1869 during the tenure of Fr Thomas Spencer.

A number of religious orders came to Marnhull for a time, some of whom left an indelible mark. The Canons Regular of the Lateran of Bodmin built St Joseph’s Priory adjacent to the north wall of the church in 1886, had new windows fitted and installed a new set of Stations of the Cross. The Canons left in 1891 being succeeded by the Oblate Fathers of the Sacred Heart, and then, in the early 20th century, by three successive communities of nuns.

Marnhull Church

It was the second group to inhabit, the Trappestines (Fully enclosed Cistercians) who, requiring a Choir (Chapel), achieved this by opening up the priory wall adjacent to the sanctuary, and installed a grille with an altar directly opposite on the north wall. With dwindling numbers, the Trappestines left only to be replaced by the Helpers of the Souls in 1921, a community of nuns who constituted the place as their Novitiate in England.

Later, it was Fr Weddick who had the church repainted, installed a new organ, refurbished the High Altar and Tabernacle, and installed three new statues of Our Lady, St Gregory the Great, and St Joseph replete with oaken canopies. He also added a new presbytery before he left in 1928.

The little school founded by Fr Casey in 1846 was built on the corner of Great Down Lane and Old Mill Road, and in 1953 it moved down the lane next to the church. For a time, the former nuns’ chapel was used as the school hall and as a classroom. The expansion of the school with a new school hall ensured that today the nuns’ chapel has the dual purpose of being used as an overflow for larger congregations at Mass and for parish events.

To celebrate the 150th anniversary of Our Lady’s a major repair and reordering was undertaken in 1982 by Fr Christopher Smith. Among other things, the altar was moved forward to accommodate liturgical changes, and the font was re-sited from the back of the church to be placed on the sanctuary. Six fine Marnhull tapestries of West Country saints were designed by local artist Joan Payne and worked by a group of parishioners. These are a ‘must see’ to be viewed on the reredos of the High Altar and depict Blessed John Slade (of Manton), St Walburga, St Aldhelm, St Boniface, St Edward (King and Martyr), and Blessed John Cornelius ( see Chideock Martyrs article, Autumn 2019 issue ).

To attend a usus antiquior celebration at our Lady’s is to be completely united in faith and worship with those humble souls who bequeathed to us this Catholic community down the ages. We can also pray with them, ‘Our Lady of Marnhull - pray for us’.

With acknowledgements to Fr Martin Budge, PP of Marnhull, and to Mary Bradbury whose booklet about the Marnhull Mission I found helpful.