A parish history

I thought we could have a short history of the parish on the parish website, so I've pieced this together from the book that was produced to commemorate the opening of the church in 1985. It is slightly dated, and will be added to when I find a usable source for the last thirty-five years. It is now on the About us page.

The original site for the church and parish property was obtained in 1876 by Monsignor McKenna, at a time when the present grid of streets had barely been formed. The first chapel was designed by Mr. Sheffield, and was opened for use by Monsignor Bagshawe, the third Bishop of Nottingham on the 26th of November, 1878. The priests came over from Saint Mary's at Bridge Gate until 1891, when the presbytery was built, using a legacy left by Monsignor Sing (once at Saint Mary's), who left more money for the furtherance of the mission at Saint Joseph's. The first missionary priest at Saint Joseph's was Father T. Hanks (1891-94). The chapel was used as a school from 1879, being enlarged gradually to form what was called St. Joseph's Institute. This building soon became unsuitable for the growing school and a new school was built in 1908 on the Cromwell Road. 

The first church was designed by James Hart of Corby, and the foundation stone laid by the Bishop on the 29th of April, 1896. Cardinal Vaughn appeared for the opening of the building on the 25th of February, 1897. Canon J. F. Browne (1896-1925) at Saint Joseph's helped establish the parish of Saint George in 1920 and Canon J. F. Hargreaves (1925-44) helped to make Saint George's independent, with her own resident priest. Father J. M. P. McCarthy (1944-58) arrived from the parish of the Good Shepherd, to the north of Nottingham, and was followed by Father D. Key (1958-59). Father Key began to move towards setting up the parish of Our Lady of Lourdes in Mickleover. Canon James Beel (1959-81) oversaw the building of Saint Joseph's Junior School and the building of a parish hall and watched Saint Thomas More school (established 1957) become a comprehensive school. The infant and junior schools were joined together to form a new primary school on the Mill Hill Lane under Father McLaughlin, and the Cromwell Road site was closed in July, 1983. Canon Beel had acquired the Grove Mansions plot to support the building of the parish hall and a possible future church, but died in 1981, without realising this plan.  

The second church has been designed by D. J. Montague of Derby, together with the sacristy and the presbytery, to complement the new school on the Mill Hill Lane, and to fulfil the desire of the City Planners to preserve a well-landscaped and pleasant prospect on the Burton Road. The church was opened for use by His Eminence Cardinal George Basil Hume, archbishop of Westminster, on the 25th of February, 1985.