A Church Community with Jesus, Son of God, The Word Made Flesh, and The (Sunday) Eucharist, the source and summit of our salvation, as its foundation and strength. It is Jesus, who invites us, and is the host, and The Living Bread, who feeds us through Word and Sacrament, and sends us out to proclaim The Good News.
Standing above the busy Barrow Road, St Augustine Webster is a striking sight for those travelling through Barton Upon Humber. The current church has stood at its home on Whitecross Street since 1988.
But this is the third Catholic church in Barton. In 1842 a chapel on Priestgate became Barton’s first Catholic place of worship. 1925 saw the beginning of a fundraising drive for a new church. This opened in 1938, together with a neighbouring presbytery, on a paddock at Bardney Hall. Fifty years later a major structural fault led to its demolition. A new church dedicated to North Lincolnshire martyr St Augustine Webster opened in 1988.
Barton has been home to Catholic priests since 1842. Benedictine priests and monks from Ampleforth Abbey served Barton from 1848. During the Second World War Barton’s priests were chaplains to the American Air Force stationed in Lincolnshire.
In 2001 St Augustine Webster’s last resident priest left. Without a priest, the parish proved itself to be a strong and resourceful community. In 2007 parishioners organised for the consecration of the church. In recent years, the Parish has been served by priests who live at its sister parish of St Mary’s in Brigg.
Today people travel up to 15 miles from neighbouring villages to hear Mass from current Priest Father Michael. The parish again pulled together in 2020. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak the church had to close. Thanks to the hard work of parishioners it became one of the first churches in the Diocese to open its doors on July 5, 2020.
St Augustine Webster Church is an active member of Barton Churches Together with other Christian churches in the town. The group hold regular joint prayer sessions and enjoy services together during Holy Week. The group also works together on community activities in Barton.
Information from a booklet produced by the Parish of St Augustine Webster, with thanks to Ursula Vickerton.
To learn more about the history of St. Augustine Webster Church and of Catholicism in Barton-Upon-Humber take a look at this article, written by Ursula Vickerton.
The Roman Catholic Parish of St Mary and St Augustine Webster 