To the north of the existing church was added a low lying confessional and work room block, and to the west of the church was added a new central tower, shallow transept and chancel, the enlarged building thereby stretching the entire distance between Albert Road and Post Office Road. To the south of the church a block was built consisting of an extension to the house, and sacristy was built later than the other work to the church.

The new parts of the church were all faced in rough cast stone work, in contrast to the brick of the original building. The only part of the original church left unscathed by these alterations was the tower, although its external appearance was considerably altered by reasons of the increased height, width and length of the building. The external appearance of the enlarged church would have been altered far more drastically had the envisaged central tower been completed - plans show that it was intended to be a lantern tower of substantial dimensions.

Instead, the Sacred Heart is one of quite a number of Bournemouth churches possessing an unfinished tower, largely unnoticeable outside, but more obvious inside, with the flat plastered ceiling blocking off the tower space. Whilst these extensions were in progress, the first daughter churches at Westbourne and Boscombe were being founded, the latter church of Corpus Christi, (in its completed form), being currently the only other Catholic church in Bournemouth to possess a bell, namely a fine 18 cwt bell cast by the Croydon Bell Foundry of Cillet and Johnston.

In around 1912 to 1913, the interior of the bell tower at the Sacred Heart was considerably altered by the installation of a large organ blower, mounted on girders traversing the existing ringing chamber. A new ceiling was installed immediately beneath this new engine, and the existing flooring above partially removed. This new ceiling was insulated with saw dust, and can be fairly accurately dated from the copies of the "Times" and the "Morning Post" retaining this saw dust, and containing articles describing the build up to hostilities in the First World War.

During the recent work on the bell tower, the removal of this saw dust, which was escaping onto the heads of ringers and choir members passing underneath, was an early priority. Whilst clearing this substance, the remains of the newspapers were read with interest, and precisely in the middle of this ceiling were found two empty contemporary beer bottles - was this merely carelessness on the part of the then builders, or were we intended to find them? In the years that followed, the Sacred Heart gained the role increasingly of a town centre church, there being eventually some seven daughter churches and mass centres.

A number of important buildings suffered. At the far end of Albert Road the newly built Beales Store was bombed, and St. Peter's Church was threatened by the fire that followed. The Punshon Memorial Methodist Church and the adjoining Central Hotel on Richmond Hill below the church were the victims of a direct hit, and the adjoining parts of the Sacred Heart were badly shaken as a result. During recent restoration work on the tower, a series of horizontal cracks were attended to, and one of several explanations for the cracks is bomb blast damage.

Following the war years the church's existance continued largely unaltered until the 1960s. 1969 saw the departure of the Jesuit Order from the Sacred Heart after a century of ministry in that church, their place being taken by clergy from the diocese. With the reduced numbers of vocations and the increased demand from new suburban areas, the number of priests attached to the church has substantially diminished, until there are now two priests attached to the parish, plus other assistants.

At the same time the well loved and well used building was beginning to show signs of age, and the liturgical changes resulting from the second Vatican council were looming over the horizon. From 1970 onwards there have been a succession of projects - work on the church's fine organ was an early start.

In the mid 70's the church was closed for a while, its services held in the Institute beneath, whilst a major restoration of the interior took place, together with reordering of the sanctuary under the care of Canon Patrick O'Mahony. More recently, an extensive restoration and reorganisation of the large house took place, to include provision of living accommodations for retired priests of the diocese.

Patrick Mathews

In the spring of 1982 Father David Buckley was appointed as assistant priest at the Sacred Heart. Soon after his arrival a group of enthusiastic, and curious young parishioners asked for permission to go up the church tower, an area generally rumoured to be unsafe. At the same time, as the trap doors in the tower were opened for the first time for many years, the church architect was taking a long hard look at the exterior of the building,

Also at this time the Pope, John Paul II, was about to make the first ever visit of a reigning Pontiff to these shores, and in common with many other churches, a new flag pole was erected to fly the Papal Flag during those important days. The parish priest, Father Anthony Maxwell-Ward, decided to create a more tangible memorial of this most historic visit and commissioned the parish architect to set the project in motion.