Roman Catholic Church Of The Holy Name Of Jesus

The Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Name of Jesus is a church built between 1867 and 1871 by J.A.Hansom, with completion in 1928 by A.G.Scott. It is constructed of coursed sandstone rubble with steeply-pitched slate roofs and is designed in the 13th-century Gothic style. The church consists of a nave with a west tower, north and south aisles incorporating side chapels, north and south transepts, and a polygonal apse.

The west front is dominated by a rectangular, two-bay tower of two high stages, with a later, added third stage constructed in 1928. The tower features angle buttresses, steps leading to a shallow gabled porch containing a deeply-moulded, two-centred arched doorway with two doors. The second stage is flanked by pairs of tall, two-centred arched, two-light windows. A blind-arcaded parapet tops the tower, followed by a large octagonal top section with pinnacles, corner buttresses, a large two-light window with a wheel in the head, and a blind-arcaded parapet. Various niches and blind arcading are present. An octagonal, two-stage turret is attached to the right-hand corner, featuring moulded lancets at ground floor level and spherical triangles at the top. The four-bay nave and aisles have flying buttresses and two traceried, two-light windows to each bay. The transepts, also in a similar style, include pinnacled turrets at the junction with the apse. The polygonal apse includes an ambulatory and flying buttresses, with tall, traceried, two-light windows with gablets in the parapet.

Inside, the church is spacious and airy, with very tall aisle arcades supported on quatrefoil piers. The roofs are rib-vaulted, constructed with banded cells of polygonal terracotta blocks. The aisles are lined with varied arcades, featuring large traceried arches leading to side chapels and confessionals. These are complemented by arched doorways at the lower levels and elaborately-traceried, glazed windows above—geometrical on the north side and Early English on the south. Carved Stations of the Cross are also present. An ambulatory leads to the apse, and an elaborate pinnacled reredos is a focal point. The church is generally considered to be Hansom’s finest work.