St Columba's Church, Chester

St Columba’s is a Roman Catholic parish church in Newton, a suburb north of Chester’s city centre. It stands on the corner of Plas Newton Lane and Newhall Road, its modern lines set among the brick terraces of the area. The church was built between 1964 and 1965 to serve the growing Catholic community after the Second World War. Canon Francis Murphy, a priest from nearby St Werburgh’s, raised the funds and laid the foundation stone in September 1964. Francis Prichard, an ecclesiastical architect and former Mayor of Crosby, designed the building. The first Mass was celebrated there in December 1965, and it was officially opened early the following year by the Bishop of Shrewsbury. The church is recognised for its striking modern style, noted by the Taking Stock project as distinctive among post-war churches. In 1978 a parish hall was added, built with help from the Manpower Services Commission. The hall later hosted the British Heart Foundation’s Annual General Meeting in 2012. The project involved the Bishops’ Conference, English Heritage and local dioceses in assessing Catholic buildings across England and Wales. St Columba’s remains a focus for worship and community events in Newton. Inside, the church offers a single spacious nave with clear lines and natural light. The altar area is simple, reflecting the liturgical reforms of the 1960s. The parish hall stands nearby, used for meetings, social gatherings and charity events. Newton’s quiet streets and mature gardens surround the site, giving it a calm setting away from Chester’s busy centre. The building stands as a record of mid-20th century Catholic growth and design in the north-west.