‘From one of the largest churches, to one of the smallest!’ was the joke on many lips, as Archbishop Richard Moth prepared to celebrate Mass at St Thomas of Canterbury, Puckeridge, in advance of their one-hundred-year anniversary. Indeed, just a few days prior, the Archbishop was in Rome, receiving the Pallium from Pope Leo at St Peter’s Basilica.

It may be one of the smallest churches we have in our Diocese, but it has one of its most distinctive histories. It serves the community of Puckeridge, a village of arounds 3,500 inhabitants situated in rural Hertfordshire, near the very edge of the Diocese.

The church owes much of its existence to Winifred Cairns, who donated the land it is built on to the Diocese in the 1920’s to serve as a ‘temporary’ chapel for the village and nearby school.

The school was originally called the Puckeridge Roman Catholic School. While not certain, it is believed the name was changed in 1909, although why St Thomas of Canterbury was chosen remains unknown.

The church was built in 1926, and opened on 18 July that year, with pupils from the school providing the communion bell. Just a few months later, they would unexpectedly return, not for worship, but for lessons, while repairs were carried out to the school’s roof.

Winifred Cairns remained devoted to the church long after its opening. She handmade the altar linens and took great pride in helping to maintain the church. Four generations of her family attended St Thomas of Canterbury School and worshipped at the church. Today, some of her descendants remain active members of the parish community, including Jenny Giles, who serves as a Foundation Governor at the school.

Even for a small community, they can boast of one ordained priest. Fr John Kearsey, a former pupil at the school, was Ordained at the nearby St Edmund’s College in 1957, and celebrated his first Mass at St Edmund and the English Martyrs, Old Hall Green, the parish from which the small church in Puckeridge is served today. Just a few days later he celebrates Mass at Puckeridge and gave first Communion to 10 pupils.

As St Thomas of Canterbury celebrates its centenary, its story is a reminder that the strength of a parish is measured not by the size of its congregation or its building, but by the faith and dedication of its people. What began as a ‘temporary’ chapel has served generations of Catholics for one hundred years, becoming a place of prayer, education, and community.