Update: St Mary’s Grimsby is saved!

SAVE is delighted that St Mary’s Grimsby is to remain open following an announcement from the Bishop of Nottingham on 17th November.

The 19th century church had been under threat following an report commissioned by the Bishop which recommended closing St Mary’s, and discussed the possibility of securing its ‘de-listing’. St Mary’s is Grimsby’s only grade II listed Catholic church.

St Mary’s is regarded by the community as the town’s ‘mother church’. There had been concerns that closure would put the building and its beautiful internal fittings at risk.

The church has also recently been in receipt of a grant offer of £82,000 from the Listed Places of Worship Fund for roof repairs which would constitute a large portion of the estimated repair costs. If the church had been closed, the grant would no longer be available – but the repair work would still be required while a new use was found.

St Mary’s was built in 1879-83 in a gothic revival style to the designs of MC and C Hadfield of Sheffield. It lies in a Conservation Area and was listed for its national architectural, artistic and historical significance in 1999. 

The church is full of architectural and artistic features – like the marble altar designed by Pugin and Pugin,  impressive stained glass windows, and a rich scheme of decoration for the sanctuary, painted in 1908.