St Francis Xavier Church, Hereford

St Francis Xavier Church stands in the centre of Hereford, a neat neoclassical building put up in 1839. It occupies the site of an earlier Jesuit chapel from the Reformation, so the dedication to the 16th-century missionary St Francis Xavier is no accident. The church became a Grade II* listed building in 1952, marking its place in the city’s history. The foundation stone was laid in 1837, and Queen Victoria’s representative attended the ceremony. Charles Day, an architect from Worcester, designed both this church and another Jesuit church in Bury St Edmunds. The building cost more than £16,000 to construct and opened in 1839, before the English Catholic hierarchy was restored. The church is worth the journey for its relic of St John Kemble, a Catholic martyr executed in 1679. His hand is kept inside, and his feast day is still marked on 22 August. The church also houses a decorated plaster ceiling and a lightwell that fills the interior with natural light. Two Ionic columns flank the altar, while the front shows two fluted Doric columns beside the entrance. A dome rises at the rear, and the exterior walls carry a stucco frieze and columns. The church’s history with the Jesuits lasted until 1858, when the Benedictines took over nearby Belmont Abbey. Inside, visitors find an ornate interior with plasterwork on the ceiling and a lightwell above. The altar stands between two Ionic columns, and the dome at the back adds height to the space. The hand of St John Kemble is displayed as a relic, drawing pilgrims to the church. The nearby St Francis Xavier RC Primary School keeps close ties with the parish. The building’s neoclassical style and careful details show the hand of architect Charles Day. The church remains an active place of worship with regular Sunday Masses.