Saint John the Baptist Catholic Church, Westerham
A short history by Christopher Bell
The first record we have of regular Masses in Westerham appears in the 1920 Notices Book of the Church of St. Thomas of Canterbury, Sevenoaks, whose priests had been allocated responsibility for Westerham. Mass was said in a variety of local venues over the years, including the former Crown Hotel by the then existing railway station, the Men’s Club on Fullers Hill, a private home, and, latterly, a room provided by a Miss Wilson close to her home at Pitt’s Cottage. The only alternatives for Westerham Catholics would have been to travel to Oxted, where there had been a church since 1914, or to Biggin Hill where one had been opened in 1925.
The present Church of St. John the Baptist, Westerham, was opened in 1955. The site had actually been acquired and preliminary plans drawn up in the 1930s, but financial problems and the outbreak of the Second World War had left the project in abeyance. The Kent County Council finally agreed a licence for the building in October 1952. Loans were raised from the Diocese and generous benefactions made by Father Maurice Castelli , who had been appointed Priest-in- Charge in 1949.The Foundation Stone, which was laid and blessed by Bishop Cyril Cowderoy on 24th April 1954, can still be seen to the right of the main door with its dedication to St. John the Baptist in Latin.
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