Fr James Daley

Fr James Daley was the first priest to return to Basingstoke since the Reformation.  He bought 4  Burgess Road and the plot of land the Holy Ghost now occupies.   It it told how when he was turning the first sod with his parishioners for the first Catholic Church about 120 men from the town came to stop them.    Fr Daley took off his jacket and confronted them.  "If you want to stop this you will have to deal with me first" he shouted.   He was a well built man over six feet tall  There began a dialogue and eventually the crowd was so won over that when many left to walk back down Chappel HIll others stopped to help with the digging.  A truly ecumencal occasion.

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