Saturday 16th September at 2pm.

St Marie’s church is just one of a number of beautiful buildings that make up architect Edward Pugin’s body of work.

As part of Halton’s Heritage Open Days St Marie’s Heritage Group are delighted to welcome eminent Pugin expert Dr Gerard Hyland to talk to us about the work of Edward Pugin and specifically the design of St Marie’s church.

You are all welcome to join us for this event, learn more about Pugin and St Marie’s and catch up with friends over a hot drink and biscuits. 

There is no need to book for this free event, just come along.

St Joseph’s, Penketh, Centenary Year Founders Walk Of Witness Saturday 2nd September

In 1923 Fr Barry, the parish priest of St Marie’s took out a loan of £1,300 from the Archdiocese to purchase land to create a mission in Penketh and this was the beginning of St Joseph’s Parish. To commemorate the Parish beginning and the generosity of the people of Widnes and St Marie’s there will be a walk from St Joseph’s to St Marie’s commencing at 10.00 am and arriving at St Marie’s for refreshments at 11.45 am. There will be a short service and prayers at St Marie’s at 12.15 pm.

All are welcome to join in the walk or to simply meet at St Marie’s later.

This is a Warrington and Widnes Deanery collaboration.

Come and join us on Saturday 8 July 2pm to 4pm at St Marie’s, Lugsdale Rd

St Marie’s Heritage Group are very proud to present a Heritage Talk at St Marie’s by Bob Roach entitled “Local Legends. – the Story & the History”

Legends are an important part of our heritage, not least because they often merge with established history. Using photos, images and description this presentation will illustrate three of our local legends & the history related to them. There will be the usual free hot drinks and biscuits and a raffle. We look forward to seeing you there.

To let us know you’ll be coming along please call (01928) 592405 or email heritage@haltonsthelensvca.org.uk or simply just attend on the day.

Memories of working life

Do you have memories of working in the chemical industry in Widnes or Runcorn? If so, we would like to hear your story.

Catalyst Science Discovery Centre & Museum have been awarded a grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to update their heritage exhibitions. 

We are running a Memories and Memorabilia event on Saturday 27^th May, 1-4pm at St Maries church, Lugsdale Rd.

Come and chat to us about your memories of work. Bring along photos and other items that remind you of your working life and experiences.

For further information please contact Ruth at ruth.darling@me.com or phone 0779 648 6647

Spring into Summer with St Marie’s Prize Bingo 2-4pm Saturday 20th May at St Marie’s church, Lugsdale Rd, Widnes.

All are welcome to join us for a fun afternoon catching up with friends old and new with free hot drinks and biscuits. You never know, you might win a prize or two as well. Email heritage@haltonsthelensvca.org.uk or call 01928 592405 to let us know you’ll be coming along.

We look forward to seeing you.

The volunteers of St Marie’s Heritage Group spent an enjoyable but busy morning decorating the Christmas Tree in St Marie’s and making some final preparations for the Christmas Carol Concert.

Pictured from L to R are Jane, Charlie, Christine, Pat, Peter, Alison and Roger

Please note that all available places for our upcoming Christmas Carol Concert with the Parish Choir of St Wilfrid have now been reserved. Places have been distributed on a first come first served basis. We apologise to anyone who was hoping to attend the event but had not yet booked a place.

Thank you to everyone who has booked a place and we look forward to seeing you on Thursday 8th. The first Carol will be sung at 7pm and the church will be open at 6.15pm.

What could be more magical than gathering in a warm St Marie’s on a brisk December evening to join family & friends in singing some Christmas carols and songs?

We think it’s the perfect way to start the Christmas season.

The St Marie’s Heritage Group are delighted to welcome back the wonderful Parish Choir of St Wilfrid who will be leading attendees in a Christmas singalong on the night. The choir will be choosing their favourite traditional Carols and songs and we will provide copies of the words for anyone who worries about forgetting the next line. The choir will be positioned in front of the beautiful St Marie’s Altar and attendees will sit facing them on the pews and other chairs. We think that when we all sing together it will sound magnificent.

There will be mince pies, mulled wine, hot drinks and our usual array of fabulous biscuits. There will be plenty of time to chat and catch up with old friends after the Carols have been sung.

It’s free to attend but places are limited so please book in advance.

To reserve your place, please call (01928) 592 405 or e-mail heritage@haltonsthelensvca.org.uk

The volunteers of St Marie’s Heritage Group were delighted to welcome over 70 visitors to St Marie’s on Saturday 5th November for the launch of our new St Marie’s Timeline. The 9 banners located around the church documenting the story of the parish and the people and clergy who worshipped and served there from 1861 to 2013 looked magnificent.

The banners certainly sparked a lot of conversation and no doubt brought back lots of memories of times spent with family and friends in the church. There were a number of people and organisations to thank and they included Tesco Community Grants, Halton Area Forum (Halton Borough Council) and John Norris of MacPro Design for the production.

A 43 page booklet was also made available, St Marie’s Church History Timeline; The story of a parish and its people, and we’d like to thank all those who took a copy and left a donation. The Timeline banners are a permanent feature in the church and are able to be viewed Monday to Friday 9.30am to 4.00pm. Copies of the booklet are also available for a donation.

St Marie’s Heritage Group would like to welcome you to St Marie’s to view our new timeline celebrating the history of the church and the clergy and parishioners who served and worshipped there from 1861 to 2007. Whether you attended St Marie’s church or not we are sure you will find something interesting, amusing and thought provoking in the display which will be set out around the church. Come along, meet old friends and have a catch up and as usual there will be plenty of free hot drinks and biscuits.

If you would like to join us please email: heritage@haltonsthelensvca.org.uk or call 01928 592405