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The story of St Richard’s church at Chichester began in 1855 with a remarkable donation from two domestic servants, Mary and Anne Henshaw, who saved from their meagre wages and provided funds to build a small Victorian Gothic church which served until 1958. The land was donated by Anne, Countess of Newburgh. She was a fervent Catholic at Slindon, whose wide ranging family, the Ratcliffes, had been active in the Catholic church in England even during penal times. She left endowments in her will to provide a site for the new church at Chichester, which held 160 worshippers.

A tradition of self help was established by hundreds of parishioners - and with subscribers who were not Catholics, raising money through a successful football pool to build the present church, opened in 1958. The architect's model aroused great interest in London, and building is shown underway in the photo from the West Sussex Record Office Chichester Photographic collection.

It was simply constructed - a plain shell, but in the 1960's it was provided with fine art, and a unique set of stained glass panels from Chartres. In 2008 the Parish Priest, Father Kieron O'Brien, with the Development Committee, reduced the size of the the sanctuary, which provided more seating space, and moved the font to a more prominent location, just off the Sanctuary, where the nave meets the north transept, in accordance with recent liturgical criteria.

The high altar is of Tino green marble - flanked with steps in Belgian black fossil marble. The church seats 350 and the congregations are growing!

The Font was designed by David O'Connell. It is of white Portland Stone set in a slate gold glass mosaic and white Sicilian marble.

The Blessed Sacrament is reserved in a chapel once dedicated to Our Lady of Walsingham. The altar, also designed by David O'Connell, is flanked by his paintings of six archangels. The candlesticks were designed and made locally on the theme of a lily of Mary's virginity.

Moving the font created space in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, to provide a reconciliation room, built in accordance with child protection guidelines. Fr Kieron commissioned Majella Taylor, a parishioner and glass designer, with assistance from Antony Watts and colleagues, to engrave the glass to complement the surrounding coloured Loire glass.

Our Lady of Walsingham's statue is now placed at the corner of the chapel, with the other statues and icon. The altar lamp was also engraved by Majella Taylor.

The statues on either side of the sanctuary are from the old church - the Sacred Heart and St Anthony of Padua.

You can see how the Alterations were carried out

Read the description of the Loire stained glass panels