A Brief History of the Catholic Church in Mablethorpe

The first Catholic church in Mablethorpe is believed to have been converted from a carpenter‘s workshop in Gibraltar Road (now Queen’s Park Close). This belonged to the Rev Father Bull who moved to this area for health reasons. He left the area a few years later when he had recovered. Father Bull died in 1937 and left a legacy in his will for the building of a permanent church as he had always loved the little seaside town of Mablethorpe. The legacy covered half the cost of building the church. The parishioners worked very hard to clear the debt. The present church was built in 1938 and was consecrated and opened on Sunday 29 th January 1939. The statue of St Joseph above the entrance was made in France. It was a gift from a Catholic family from Louth. The original building was of handmade red brick made by the Skegness Brick Company. The narthex was added in 2001. The two holy water stoups have the inscription: ‘This stoups originally formed part of the Louth Abbey AD 1139’. Inside the church on the right hand side is the Baptistery. This contains a carved stone ambry and a font which was a gift from Father Murray of Coatbridge Scotland. The benches are of Kambala teak and were made in Belgium. The floor of the church is polished oak. The Lady Chapel is situated on the right hand side of the church and was the first chapel to be dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima. This remarkable statue was made close to Fatima and there is a detailed history of the statue which all are encouraged to read. On the sanctuary the stonework of the high altar, ambry piscine and altar table are all of Monks Park stone. The altar was a gift of from Mr A Ingram a member of the Louth firm that built the church. The original doors were of solid oak and with a cross of contrasting darker oak. The pulpit was made of Australian Walnut and inlaid ebony cross. Unfortunately these were destroyed by the East Coast Floods in 1953 which also claimed a number of lives in Mablethorpe and Sutton on Sea.