Church Of St Mark

Church of St Mark is a church built between 1960 and 1963, designed by G.G. Pace. It is constructed primarily of blue engineering brick with graduated slate roofs – low pitched over the main body and steeply pitched over the tower. Concrete dressings are used around the windows. The church has a five-sided, aisled space, with three walls being rectangular and the liturgical north side canted outwards to accommodate a choir. A narthex is located to the west, alongside a small rectangular chapel. The church occupies a corner site, dominated by a low, rectangular brick tower with a high, gabled roof. The nave has four bays, separated by buttresses and containing rectangular windows arranged in varying groups high in the wall. Secondary glazing has been sensitively installed over the west window. A thick, exposed, board-marked concrete beam runs along the eaves. The tower is flush with the chapel on the return elevation, featuring irregular groups of rectangular windows to both sides. Leaded lights are used throughout. A recessed entrance has two doors of timber and leaded-glazing. The liturgical north and south faces of the tower have stacks of 14 small pointed louvres. Jutting gutter spouts are made of exposed board-marked concrete.

Inside, the bays are divided by three pairs of varnished, laminated timber 'y' shaped supports and trusses, which support timber trussed purlins (with visible bolts) and timber rafters. The walls are white-painted brick with exposed, board-marked concrete bands which act as bonding strips between brick piers and as lintels for windows. The original, substantial altar of limed timber, with four legs, remains in its original position, set forward from the east wall. The sanctuary is raised by two steps. A limed timber pulpit and altar rail, also substantial, are present, along with a thick black metal support and a thick limed timber handrail. A matching priest's chair sits against the east wall. A black metal crucifix exemplifies Pace’s design style. Stone sedilia are incorporated into the north and south walls of the sanctuary. The east window contains stained glass made up of broken and reset fragments of 19th-century glass. The font, positioned in the central aisle towards the west end, comprises a monolithic cream stone cylinder flanked by a smaller cylinder with a spout. An elaborate font cover of roughly textured cast aluminium rises to flame-like pinnacles. Reused 19th-century benches are painted semi-matt black. The narthex and west chapel feature limed timber doors with decorative nail-heads. The west chapel has an open, white-painted timber roof. Sanctuary lighting and crosses are characteristic of Pace’s style.

This church is a well-executed example of Pace’s distinctive style, reflecting the influence of the Liturgical Movement, particularly in the forward placement of the altar.