[4] In the 1700s, a priest was resident in nearby Weston Underwood and he would travel to Shefford to serve the Catholic community there.

In 1742, the Apostolic Vicar of the London District, Bishop Richard Challoner visited Shefford and wrote that there were twenty Catholics in the town.

With the passing of the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1791, a chapel, St George's, was built behind a house on the Shefford High Street.

[5] In 1869, a Catholic orphanage, St Francis' Boys Home, was started in the building next door.

During his career, Alexander Scoles was his student and George Campbell Sherrin and Henry Bloomfield Bare were his assistants.