Our Lady of Consolation of West Grinstead

Introduction
The first Catholic Shrine in honour of Our Lady to be established in England since before the Reformation is to be found in West Sussex -- just a few miles south of Horsham close to the busy A24 London to Worthing road - The Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation. Such an imposing church, built in an isolated rural location would seem to be an anomaly, but the reason for its existence lies in the story, firstly of the Carylls - a land-owning, truly devout Catholic Sussex family - and secondly in a long line of devoted priests who, supported by this family, took care of the West Grinstead Mission. It was the fact that Mass was offered here throughout the dark recusant days that led a French émigré priest, Monsignor Jean-Marie Denis, to establish this Shrine in honour of Our Lady and in thanksgiving for the re-establishment of the Catholic faith in England.

The Caryll Family
In the reign of Elizabeth I the Carylls lived in the near-by parish of Shipley, at Benton's Place - an imposing farmhouse, which still stands. A great landowning family, they possessed many houses and farms in this vicinity as well as in other parts of Sussex and Hampshire. They were known to be supporters of the "old religion", giving shelter to priests, many of whom, while disguised as servants, acted as chaplains to the family.

The Priest's House
It is not easy to accurately date the so-called Priest's House. Built by the Carylls, as part of their West Grinstead estate, it was possibly in existence as early as the middle of the 16th century. Originally just a small cottage, consisting of one room on each of the ground and first floors, priests lived here disguised as local stockmen (shepherds). Under the thatched roof there was a hayloft that also housed a tiny hidden chapel. Additionally, two other hides (Priest's Holes) were built into the massive chimneybreast that supports the centre of the cottage. So it became a 'safe house' for the seminary priests who were beginning to travel from Douai and Rome to work on the English mission.

The original hayloft and Chapel would have been very different to what is here today. Under a thatch roof, the loft would have been windowless and access would originally have been via a vertical ladder rising from the first floor on the West side of the house. It was in the middle of the 18th century that the hayloft was cleared and the present small chapel was created.

This small cottage, known today as the Priest's House, is reputably the oldest continuously occupied Catholic presbytery in England. It was also used as a 'safe house' where priests and seminarians could find not just good Catholic hospitality, but the possibility of hiding, should the militia and magistrates be in pursuit of them. The River Adur runs about a quarter of a mile to the south and was extensively used by those many travelling between London and the Continent. There is no evidence that any priest was ever captured at West Grinstead (the very fact that the House has survived must be proof of that); but it is not possible to speak with certainty of the many who undoubtedly used this house as a refuge. Written records were not kept for obvious reasons of anonymity.

After the persecutions and executions that followed the Titus Oates plot in 1680, the death penalty for being a priest was eventually removed. Instead, fines and taxes on Catholics were doubled and all remaining civil rights were taken from them. Nearly all the remaining local Catholic families conformed at this stage, but not the Carylls, who stayed faithful to their religion and to the Stuart monarchy. As a result they were continuously harassed and eventually became impoverished, having lost all their houses and lands.

The Sale of West Grinstead Park
John Caryll (the seventh of this name) followed James II to France. In exile he became Secretary to King James' Queen Mary, and was given a title by James of Lord Caryll. Eventually the title went to his great nephew, John Baptist, the last Lord Caryll. He it was, who in 1754, having lost most of his fortune, largely because of his loyalty to his religion, sold West Grinstead Park for £6,000. However, he first endowed the Priest's House the Catholic Church via Bishop Richard Challoner (1691-1781), so that Mass could continue to be offered for he people of the locality. Bishop Challoner himself had made a visitation to the West Grinstead Mission in 1741; and had found 150 Catholics at Mass - being celebrated in an upstairs room of the extended Priest's House - the Mass purportedly being celebrated on the first floor Landing of the House; the Faithful congregating in the two rooms on the South Front of the house.

The End of Penal Days
After the departure of both the Caryll family and their Franciscans priests, French émigré priests who had fled from the French Revolution served the Mission. It was during this time in the early 19th century that Catholicism in West Grinstead declined. (However good and well intentioned he might be, a 'foreigner' who did not speak the English language could not make much headway with the Sussex country folk.) The parish, therefore, was at a low when Mgr. Jean Marie Denis was appointed as its priest in 1863. He was originally from the Breton area of France. With the encouragement of firstly Bishop Thomas Grant and after him, Bishop James Dannell, he revived West Grinstead in a remarkable way so that it once more became a lively force in the story of the Catholic Church in Sussex. Shortly after Mgr. Denis' arrival Bishop Thomas Grant made an Episcopal Visitation to West Grinstead; and despite the declined numbers, the bishop gave great encouragement when he said, "This mission has nothing to fear - it has seen far harder times. It has protectors in heaven and you will see at West Grinstead things that will surprise you".

Inspired by his bishop, Mgr. Denis straightway began to make improvements. That same year, 1863, he opened a school for poor children in a wooden stable behind the House. By 1868 the school's numbers had increased from the original eight, so that new accommodation had to be found in the kitchen. In 1871 the Education Act meant that a completely new building was necessary and soon generous donations made it possible to build a large hall to take more than 100 children.

West Grinstead in the 20th Century
By the time Mgr. Denis died in 1900, he had left a well-established parish behind him, with a flourishing school, a convent and a growing pattern of regular pilgrimages.

In 1965 the Southwark Archdiocese was divided and the Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation became part of the new Diocese of Arundel and Brighton. Although the large annual Southwark
diocesan pilgrimage ceased, others both large and small have continued regularly throughout the summer months. A once more, a constant stream of pilgrims still make their way to West Grinstead to leave their petitions at the Shrine and at the historic altar in the 'secret chapel' located in the Priest's House.

The Shrine
Although the history of this Catholic Mission goes back to the days of Henry VIII, Mgr. Jean-Marie Denis only established the Shrine Church of Our Lady of Consolation of West Grinstead in 1876. His begging efforts, not only locally, but also in France, Belgium and Holland, enabled the building of the fine late 19th century Gothic church that is here.

When choosing a title for the shrine Mgr. Denis had decided that it would be better to have one which was well known on the Continent, in order that it would share from the start in already established prayers, privileges and blessings. At that time few were so venerated both for antiquity and universal fame as the Consolata at Turin. So it was that the title of Our Lady of Consolation, (also well known and venerated in Pre-Reformation England), was the title he chose. The West Grinstead shrine, affiliated in such a way as to be a true extension of that of Turin, is nevertheless separate under its own title 'Our Lady of Consolation of West Grinstead', and founded by Pope Leo XIII and with the Episcopal approval of Bishop Grant. The ceremony of crowning was performed before a great crowd of pilgrims on 12th July, 1893 by the Papal Delegate, Bishop Butt, representing the Holy See and Pope Leo XIII.

A Seminary Begins in 1889
With the arrival of Mgr. Denis, the number of parishioners steadily increased and in 1887 a curate was appointed to assist him. This was Fr. Francis Bourne, who later became the famous Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster. He remained for two years working particularly with the boys of the orphanage. It was about this time that almost every diocese began to set up its own seminary. Bishop Butt, while in retreat at the Carthusian Monastery in nearby Cowfold, decided that it was time Southwark had its own and he appointed Fr. Bourne to take charge as the first Rector in 1889. Boys had already begun training for the priesthood with Fr. Bourne and three of them formed the nucleus of the first seminary. Their training began at the West Grinstead Priest's House, although moved after two years to a larger domestic property at the nearby village of Henfield, where it remained whilst the purpose-built seminary at Wonersh was being completed. However, as both the first students and the first Rector came from West Grinstead, it can fairly be said that the Priest's House was the cradle of the present St. John's Seminary.

Our Lady of Consolation of West Grinstead
Pray for us