The Benson Memorial Church, dedicated to St Richard of Chichester, is an English

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

church in the Hertfordshire town of Buntingford. Its name derives from the notable priest and author

Robert Hugh Benson Robert Hugh Benson AFSC KC*SG KGCHS (18 November 1871 – 19 October 1914) was an English Catholic priest and writer. First an Anglican priest, he was received into the Catholic Church in 1903 and ordained therein the next year. He ...

who lived locally at

Hare Street House Hare Street House is a Grade II* listed building in the hamlet of Hare Street that lies between Buntingford and Great Hormead in the East Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. It is mainly associated with the Roman Catholic priest a ...

and helped fund construction of the church. Benson laid the foundation stone but died before the building was completed. The parish currently shares a parish priest with the Catholic churches in Puckeridge and

Old Hall Green Old Hall Green is a hamlet in Hertfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census the population was included in the civil parish of Standon. In 1793, an academy, St. Edmund's College, Ware, was established there which provided a school for Catholic b ...

History

The church was built in 1914 by Arthur Young in the

Gothic style Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths ** Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken ...

and is Grade II listed as a building of special architectural or historic interest. It was opened in January 1915. The

Lady chapel A Lady chapel or lady chapel is a traditional British English, British term for a chapel dedicated to "Our Lady", Mary, mother of Jesus, particularly those inside a cathedral or other large church (building), church. The chapels are also known as ...

was added in 1916 and the porch in 1934. The 45-foot tall tower, surmounted by a 35-foot copper spire was added in 1939. The church was consecrated in 1940 by the auxiliary bishop of Westminster, Edward Myers. St Richard of Chichester, Buntingford, Herts - geograph

St Richard of Chichester, Buntingford, Herts - geograph

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buntingford, Benson Memorial Grade II listed churches in Hertfordshire Churches in Hertfordshire Roman Catholic churches in Hertfordshire Churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster Roman Catholic churches completed in 1915 Grade II listed Roman Catholic churches in England 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom Churches with a Hertfordshire spike

Benson Benson may refer to: Animals *Benson (fish), largest common carp caught in Britain Places Geography Canada *Rural Municipality of Benson No. 35, Saskatchewan; rural municipality *Benson, Saskatchewan; hamlet United Kingdom * Benson, Oxfordshire ...