Church Of St Joseph

The Church of St Joseph is a Roman Catholic church built between 1893 and 1895 by E.J. Hansom from Newcastle. It features a mid-20th century porch and is constructed of brick with red sandstone dressings and Westmorland slate roofs. The church is disoriented for ritual purposes and includes a clearstoried and aisled nave, an apsed chancel, north and south transept chapels, and sacristies located in the southeast corner of the south transept, along with a northwest porch.

The nave consists of six bays defined by buttresses and has clearstorey windows set in two-centred arches, with paired trefoil-headed lancets in the north aisle. The nave and two-bay chancel display decorated-style traceries. The west doorway is notable for its four roll-moulded orders and granite shafts with leafy capitals, topped by a water-leaf moulded hoodmould. Gargoyles are positioned above pilasters that rise from the buttresses between the windows of the decagonal sanctuary apse, with similar gargoyles on the west gable, all crafted by Milburn from York.

Inside, the nave arcades are supported by compound piers adorned with figures of angels in the spandrels, created by Bolton & Sons from Cheltenham. Round wall-shafts ascend to foliate capitals that support wall-posts of the hammerbeam roof, which features carved figures at the ends of the hammerbeams. The chancel apse is ceiled with timber boarding, and the wall-posts rise from angel corbels. The south aisle has blank arcading, while the middle three windows of the apse contain fine stained glass depicting Bible scenes by Glossley, Atkinson & Co.; the other four windows are plain, with carved stone figures in the spandrels. The aisle floors are laid with vitreous mosaic, and the chancel floor features marble mosaic.

The marble reredos in the apse has three faces, incorporating four figures of the Virgin and saints in turreted niches, with a central niche housing a Crucifix flanked by mosaic panels. The altar is made of marble and alabaster, with a grey granite mensa and marble side rails. Each chapel contains an altar and reredos of marble and alabaster, complete with figures and rails. A circular marble font is supported by four compound shafts with foliate alabaster capitals and a moulded octagonal plinth. An ornamental sanctuary lamp made of brass and iron is suspended from an iron bracket.