Church Of St Joseph

The Church of St Joseph is a Roman Catholic parish church built between 1906 and 1907, designed by the parish priest, Father Rogers, with engineering input from Thomas Axtell. It is constructed from moulded concrete blocks made on site, with a Welsh slate roof featuring gable copings and terracotta ridge cresting. The church is in a Romanesque basilica style, comprising a continuous nave and chancel with apses for both the nave and aisle, and a west aisled porch.

The exterior features round-headed windows with sloping sills, five in the east apse and three in the east aisle apses, all under half-conical roofs. The paired windows in the aisles and clerestory are set within seven panelled bays and have a dripstring. The west porch has similar windows, with paired panels in the aisle and a single window framing the central, round-headed door. The door surround is characterised by triple roll moulding beneath a chamfered arch supported by pilasters with moulded imposts and a dripstring. A large rose window is above the door, with statues in round-headed niches and dripmoulds flanking the arch. Lombard friezes are present on all gables, which have copings on moulded kneelers. The aisle roofs are pent, and decorative ridge cresting displays cross finials to the nave and chancel.

The interior, with painted concrete blocks, showcases a seven-bay arcade with painted round piers, except for the two eastern piers which are of dark red granite, featuring crocket capitals and chamfered round arches with dripstrings. High arches define the chancel and west choir gallery. The king post roof is supported by large, moulded corbels and features arch-braced collars. A sill string runs along the clerestory. A chapel on the south side of the chancel contains a stained glass Annunciation by Atkinson Bros, Newcastle. Aisle windows display round panels depicting saints, set in tinted diagonal quarries, and the clerestory features stained leaded lights. An alabaster octagonal font with shafts is also present. A foundation stone in the west porch is dated 23 July 1906. This is an early example of the use of moulded concrete blocks, notable for its design by a parish priest with engineering advice, and the fact that the blocks were reportedly made by the men of the parish.