St Tarcisius Church, Camberley

St Tarcisius Church is a Roman Catholic Parish church in Camberley, Surrey. It was built from 1923 until 1924 and was designed by Frederick Walters. It is situated on the London Road, to the north of the town, next to The Atrium Shopping Centre. It is a Grade II listed building.HistoryFoundationIn 1869, a priest, Fr Thomas Purcell would come from Aldershot, to say Mass for the local Catholic population in various people's houses. For the next four years, Catholics would travel to St Joseph's Church, Aldershot for Mass. On 25 January 1873, a site was bought for £120 for a school. In 1874, a priest, Fr McKenna, was permanently appointed to serve the Catholics in Camberley. In 1879, Lady Southwell gave a plot of land, the present site, for the construction of St Tarcisius Church. In 1884, a temporary iron church was built to accommodate the congregation. In 1888, the priest's house was built and in 1896 the school was expanded.ConstructionIn 1906, Fr Patrick Twomey came to Camberley and started to plan to build a new permanent church. On 12 September 1923, the foundation stone of the church was laid by the Bishop of Southwark, Peter Amigo.On 18 November 1924, the church was opened. The church was designed by Frederick Walters as a War Memorial for fallen British Catholic military officers in the First World War. It served as the chaplaincy for Catholics at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. On 26 June 1926, the church was consecrated by Cardinal Francis Bourne. In 1935, stained-glass windows, designed by Paul Woodroffe, were installed in the church.