Chapel, 1934-36 (HER states 1936-37), architect Wilfred Clarence Mangan, Brick, with slate roof, the plan form is of a long and tall chapel aligned north east/south west, with a slight cross transept at the altar end (south west), opposite the main doors – there is a low building attached along the eastern side which presumably holds facilities for the chapel but is included in the submisson. Gothic windows in stone, three smaller and one larger (at the altar end) on either side. Internal features not seen.
St Finian’s Convent was built in 1906 as the home of Lady Alice Fitzwilliam. She invited the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary to start an orphanage and school for poor girls of Roman Catholic faith here in 1912. During WW1, before the school was started, the convent provided convalescence for Belgian soldiers wounded at the Western Front. By 1920 the convent boarded 15 girls, and in 1929 the school retained its name as St Finian’s, while the convent changed its name to St Gabriel’s.
The Catholic church architect, Wilfred C. Mangan, designed the chapel, which was built in 1934-36 and formed the spiritual heart of the convent. During WW2 the convent provided refuge for evacuees from London, and a spiritual centre for US soldiers based at Greenham Common.
The convent still houses a small community of nuns, but has been converted to an adult retreat and conference centre called The Cold Ash Centre. The current St Finian’s school is in a new building. The chapel is still in use intermittently for services at Christmas and Easter and other feast days, it is also offered for weddings and blessings, and is still consecrated.
Wilfred Clarence Mangan (1884-1968) was one of the most prolific Catholic church architects of the inter and post-war years. He was based in Preston and also had offices in London, but he worked extensively in the Portsmouth diocese. Originally in partnership with his brother James Henry Mangan, the partnership was dissolved in 1926. Amongst the many churches he designed are the Grade II listed St Patrick’s Church in Sandown, Isle of Wight; St Boniface Church in Shirley Road, Southampton; St Joseph’s Church, Newbury; and the English Martyrs Church, Reading. Mangan built in a distinctive style, using brick, and designing basilica style churches with high Byzantine windows which contribute well to their surroundings, and were a popular design in the inter war years.
Applications have been made to nationally list the buildings of the convent, but although the convent was noted by Pevsner, applications for national listing have been rejected.
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