Roman Catholic Church of St. Osmund, Salisbury

It was recorded that there were Roman Catholics in Salisbury before 1672 but the first Jesuit priest, James Weldon, did not arrive in the city until 1765. He was suceeded in 1767 by James Porter, who was chaplain to Raymond Arundell whose house became a mass centre in Salisbury. By 1780 there was a congregation of 40 to 50 people meeting at the Arundell's house. After 1792 a chapel was created in the attic of Mary Arundell's house in the Square, later St. Thomas's Square, and the congregation increased. They also provided shelter for emigrant priests from France.The Catholic Arundell family of Wardour Castle provided moral and financial backing for Roman Catholic churches in the county for around 150 years.

In 1797 the house of Thomas Peniston in The Close was certified for worship with the Abbe Nicholis Begin but the Cathedral Chapter objected. Begin then registered a house in Brown Street. In 1814 this was replaced by St. Martin's Chapel, partly financed by Lord Arundell, in St. Martin's Lane. Begin, who undertook much charitable work among the poor, died in 1826. The first meeting to consider the replacement of St. Martin's, which was now too small, took place on 26th October 1846. John Lambert, who was later to become the first Catholic mayor of a cathedral city since the Reformation, was the driving force in the project. A site in Exeter Street, owned by congregation member John Peniston, was chosen and the benediction of the foundation stone took place on 8th April 1847. The consecration and opening ceremony took place on the 6th and 7th September and the parish was officially established. The church was designed by A.W. Pugin and much of the cost borne by John Lambert, who had spent his early life at Wardour. In 1851 the average congregation was 170, who lived throughout southern Wiltshire. In an 1865 record of the parish there were 202 people from the parish and 28 from Amesbury, Odstock, Wilton and Barford St. Martin. It was estimated that of these 230 there were probably about 25% who were non-Catholic spouses or doubtful practitioners.

The widowed Lady Elizabeth Herbert had been received into the Catholic church at Palermo and on her return to England became patron of the Salisbury mission. She provided the money for a permanent priest and established a parish school beside the church. In the late 19th century Salisbury experienced rapid growth in population and St. Osmund's became too small for its congregation. In 1894 a north aisle extension was planned and built and the congregation continued to grow. In 1932 Father Hyland arrived and was to remain at the church for 32 years. Although something of an eccentric he was a figure of authority and influential in the parish, becoming a canon. St. Osmund's now covers only the centre and south of the city as there are now three Roman Catholic parishes in the city.