Corpus Christi Church, Boscombe

Corpus Christi Church stands on St James’ Square at the corner of Parkwood Road and Christchurch Road in Boscombe, a seaside suburb on the edge of Bournemouth. The present building was begun in 1885 to designs by J. William Lunn, who also planned churches in King’s Lynn and Southampton. A small iron chapel had opened nearby in 1888, served by Jesuits from Bournemouth. The church was enlarged in 1932–34 and now holds eight hundred worshippers. The church owes much to Baroness Pauline von Hügel, who bought the land and gave the building to the Jesuits in 1896. The 108-foot bell tower offers a clear view of the Isle of Wight across the bay. Inside, the sanctuary was reordered in 1974 to bring the altar forward for the congregation. A care home for older people opened beside the church in 2007. Visitors enter through the tower porch into a spacious nave fifty metres long. The enlarged church of the 1930s added side aisles and a lofty tower. The primary school next door shares the same name and site. The square itself is a quiet corner of Boscombe, with the church as its focal point.