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Local Administration. England

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Title: Local Administration. England, 1934-1988

ID: SSE 6/SSE 6.11

Extent: 2.0 Linear Feet

Arrangement: This collection is arranged into series.

Subjects: Brentwood (England)—Church History, Monasticism and Religious Orders—Whitton (Middlesex, England), Stevenage (England)—Church History, Stock (England) –Church History, Whitton (Middlesex, England)—Church History

The records of  local administration in England are arranged alphabetically into series.  The large series are correspondence, Superior General correspondence, financial reports, and mission reports.  Also included are published items, clippings, account books, legal records and some miscellaneous items.  The records encompass the entirety of the society’s involvement in the area, which is quite unique for most houses of the community.  Of particular interest are the earliest letters, particularly those from Fr. Cheray and those from  Fr. Weston and Fr. Berrell.  These document not only the earliest years of the apostolate, but also the years of World War II.   During the war the Church was bombed, the Priests were refused permission to leave England, and one, Auguste Berrell actually completed his scholasticate and was ordained  in England.  (Fr. Berrell pronounced his perpetual vows the morning after a bomb destroyed the Parish Church of Whitton, on Oct. 29, 1940.)  The correspondence is arranged by author.  The Superior General (SG) Correspondence is arranged by Superior General term, and then further subdivided by correspondent.

In 1934, the Society of Saint Edmund began a canonical house in Whitton, England, not far from Hitchin, where they wroked from 1902-1925.  Rev. Louis Cheray and Rev. Joseph Weston worked with parishioners to build a church and St. Edmunds School.  By the mid-1950’s their apostolate was so successful that they added two more works, the administration of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Stock, and the Brentwood Traveling Mission, in which priests travelled to a number of different sites.  From 1970-1976, after ceasing work in Stock and Brentwood, the Society was entrusted with a new undertaking.  The All Saints Church in Stevenage was an interesting experiment in which the building itself was both a community center and a church   shared by three major denominations, Church of England, Roman Catholic, and Methodists.  It was the first parish church in the country to be constructed under the same roof as a community centre, and the first purpose built church to be shared by three denominations.  The Society of Saint Edmund continued to work in Whitton until July 1988, when the Society decided to consolidate efforts in the United States.