Roman Catholic Church Of St Willibrords

The Roman Catholic Church of St Willibrords, built between 1937 and 1938 by Reynolds and Scott, is located on North Road in Beswick and Clayton, Manchester. This church is designed in a modernist Byzantine style and constructed of buff brick, with the roof not visible.

The building features a nave with a low central tower, a west narthex with a south porch, and tall north and south aisles, along with north chapels and a vestry, chancel, and apse. The nave is notably high, with a pilastered parapet that steps up in the center to meet the chamfered corners of the low tower. The tower has three small round-headed lancets at parapet level and a band of small rectangular windows below the cornice, alternating between blind and open.

The tall south aisle consists of three gabled transeptal bays connected by narrow links, with the gables being false. The center bay features a square-headed doorway with a stone surround, flanked by small square-headed lancets, while each of the outer bays has three similar lancets. Above these openings in each bay is a tall round-headed lancet set within a round-headed blank arch. To the left, there is a tall gabled porch with a doorway similar to the center one, which includes a statue in a niche and an oculus above.

The tall narthex has a west doorway similar to that of the aisle, with a west window above that mirrors the aisle windows. The north aisle is designed similarly to the south aisle but includes low chapels attached to the center and west bays.

Inside, the church features three sail-domes supported by transverse arches on wall piers, which are pierced for aisle passages and topped by semi-circular arches. The north aisle chapels are formed by three low semi-circular arches that diminish in size. The apsidal sanctuary has a mosaic arcading ceiling depicting the Holy Spirit as a dove, with side chapels and altars also adorned with mosaics. This church shares similarities with the Church of St Dunstan on Moston Lane, also designed by Reynolds.