Advertisement
When the Parish House of St Augustine’s of Preston, closed to parishioners in February 2015, Christine Cox thought that it would be a great pity to see a community of such long standing in Preston just simply fade away into the annals of time; this is where the idea of creating a community website came in.
Christine, a former St Augustine’s parishioner, decided to create a website and simply called it St Augustine’s RC Church Preston. It is an effort to curate materials already on the internet and those without a base. The intention is to preserve images and memories for the enjoyment of former parishioners, and indeed for posterity. Images have been provided by former parishioners via the Facebook Group for those who attended St Augustine’s School, and by Anne Foley, Monica Cox and Rosa Malloy.
The website has all that you would expect and much more about the parish of St Augustines’s of Canterbury, which has existed since 1838. There is a very comprehensive section of the history of the church from its inception to the parish being closed in February of 2015. Other sections include an excellent photo gallery, a place for parishioners’ tales.
Former parishioners have been keen to share photographs for upload to the site and enjoyed reminiscing about their days in the Frenchwood parish. To date, the site depicts weddings from the early 50s; 7 year olds on the occasion of their First Holy Communion; photographs of the church before and during demolition and much more
You can contact Christine via email on staugustinespreston@gmail.com if you have any pictures of the old parish or a St Augustine’s related tale from the past.
Do you have any pictures or tales of your schooldays at St Augustine’s; maybe a school holiday there? Let us know in the comments below.