Church Of St Augustine Of Canterbury

Church of St Augustine of Canterbury

Parish church built between 1883 and 1886, designed by R Knill Freeman. The building is constructed of rock-faced red sandstone with ashlar dressings and a graded slate roof.

The church is raised over a basement which accommodates the vestry. The plan consists of a nave with lean-to aisles, an asymmetrical full-height gabled porch and baptistery to the north-west, and a chancel of reduced height whose roof sweeps down over an organ chamber to the north.

The west front features an asymmetrical gabled wing forming the porch and baptistery. To the right of the doorway is an arch with a fleuron to the hoodmould, above which sits a 2-light square-headed window beneath the lower sweep of roof. To the left of the doorway is a traceried baptistery window with a fleuron to its hoodmould, and above it a Perpendicular traceried window which is blind except for two small lancet lights. The aisle continues around the western angle of the church. A central buttress divides the west wall, flanked by a low 3-light window below and a 4-tier 2-light window above on each side. Small paired foiled lights light the aisles (four bays to the north, five to the south), with stepped 3-light windows and relieving arches over serving the basement. Buttresses above the aisles divide the clerestory, which contains tall 2-light windows with reticulated tracery.

A full-height vestry extension extends to the north under the continuation of the chancel roof. This extension has a canted angle with an oriel window to the first floor, the roof continuing over the angle and carried on a timber bracket.

Lean-to aisles flank the chancel, forming a vestry and chapels. The chancel has 2-light windows to north and south, and is lit to the east by a large 5-light window flanked by projecting ribs which form a frame above the window for rich Perpendicular blind traceried panelling.

Internally, the church features raw brick with stone dressings, the brickwork plastered in the chancel only. The high six-bay nave has low and narrow aisles beneath a clerestory. The arcade features plain chamfered responds and moulded arches, with 2-light windows above forming a high clerestory divided by pilasters sprung from corbels between each arcade arch. The steep roof has cusped principal rafters and collar ties.

The western bay of the nave contains a gallery, with a Lady Chapel below now screened off. Adjacent to this is the baptistery in the next bay to the north, marked by a high arcade arch. The narrow lean-to aisles are structurally divided by buttresses pierced by arches.

A banded brick and stone chancel arch spans the chancel entrance, with bands of traceried panelling at the level of the springing of the arch. The chancel is raised on steps and formerly had a screen separating it from the nave. Two-bay arcades on each side open to side chapels.

The chancel contains an organ loft over stairs to the north with painted panelling. A high renaissance-style reredos with gilding stands behind the altar. Sedilia with fleurons to the hoodmould sit to the north, with a piscina to the south. The chancel has a keeled ceiling. The chapel to the south of the chancel contains an early 20th-century triptych as a war memorial reredos.

The east window is by Henry Holiday and serves as a World War I memorial, depicting figures of saints. Additional figures of saints, mainly dating to the early 20th century, occupy the aisles. The font in the north-west baptistery is a plain cylindrical basin with low reliefs and gilded painted lettering.