City's Roman Catholic church placed on at-risk list

A Roman Catholic church in Cambridge that recently underwent a £1m restoration has been added to Historic England's Heritage at Risk Register.

The Grade I listed Church of Our Lady of the Assumption and the English Martyrs, on Hills Road, was added to the list after concerns about the condition of its historical fabric and carved stonework.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of East Anglia said in 2025-26 the building's spire and south aisle underwent repairs.

Matthew Champion, its diocesan heritage officer, said: "Being put on the Heritage at Risk Register is an opportunity to concentrate and prioritise on what needs to be done to ensure the building's future."

It is one of the largest Roman Catholic churches in England and was built between 1885 and 1890.

The church was designed in the 19th Century Gothic Revival style and was funded by Yolande Marie Louise Lyne-Stephens, a former ballet dancer at the Paris Opera and Drury Lane, London.

Champion called the church an "architectural masterpiece on a monumental scale".

"It was built in the style and scale of a Gothic cathedral, and as such presents a number of challenges due to its sheer size and complexity," he added.

The diocese said the decision to add the church to the register was due to investigations that discovered "long-term deterioration of its stonework and decorative carvings".

The Reverend Eugène Harkness, rector and parish priest, said: "Over the past two years we have worked hard to raise funds to complete repair work and cleaning of the spire and North Porch and the south roof.

"It now shows the elegance which it first had on its completion in 1890."

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