The first Rector of St Joseph’s Mission was the Reverend John Coulston, who had been Chaplain at Lingdale House.
John Coulston was born in Lancaster on 8th January 1822. His family played an important part in the development of Catholic Churches in the Lancaster area, and there is a Coulston Chapel in Lancaster Cathedral. They had originally been yeoman farmers and their later wealth came from from tanning, land acquisition, banking and railways.
He was trained at Ushaw between 1836 and 1847 and was ordained by Bishop Riddell (auxiliary to Bishop Mostyn who was Vicar Apostolic of the Northern District) at Ushaw on 9th May 1847.
His first appointment was as Curate at St Augustine’s in Manchester. A year later, in 1848, he became Curate at St Chad’s in Manchester. Again he only stayed for a year and in 1849 he became Rector of St Marie in Bury.
In 1850 he became Curate at St Werburgh’s in Birkenhead for a year before becoming Rector in Wrexham. He remained in Wrexham for two years and then moved to Stockport as Rector of St Michael’s in 1853.
The Reverend Coulston replaced the Reverend Roger McCarte as Chaplain at Lingdale House on 28th February 1857 and moved with the sisters to Upton Hall in 1863. He remained as Rector of St Joseph’s until 1866, when he moved to Welshpool.
He died on 4th June 1889 and is buried in Lancaster Cathedral Cemetery.
