Roman Catholic Church of St Matthew

The Roman Catholic Church of St Matthew was completed on March 16, 1930, designed by F X Velarde, a significant Lancashire/Liverpool architect, and built for Matthew Honan FRIBA, who was killed in action in 1916. The church is constructed of red brick with a red pantile roof and is aligned north-west to south-east.

The church’s plan comprises a nave and aisles, a sanctuary with an apsidal end, a separate side chapel connected to the presbytery, and a tall campanile on the north (ritual) side topped with a green roof. The nave has six bays with paired round-arched windows featuring metal frames set within shallow moulded brick pilasters. A double string course runs at door-top level, and decorative brick patterning is found at the eaves and around the round-headed arched windows. Smaller windows within the structure have a curved pattern within their metal frames. The east end features a shallow apse with blind windows, and the sanctuary is a single bay. The north aisle is characterised by a continuous parapet and windows grouped in threes, with a door at the west end. The west end presents a central doorway with a round-arched top, small flanking windows, and a grouping of three windows above. The campanile is attached to the east end of the north side, containing a door to the east and a paired window to the north. The top of the campanile, crafted in white marble, features a column at each corner with three round-arched openings on each side, culminating in a curved mansard roof. On the south side, the side chapel is located at the east end, its design distinguished by a canted bay and a blind window. A single-story corridor leads east to the presbytery, while the presbytery itself has been altered and does not contribute significantly to the architectural interest.

Inside, an arched baldachino structure encloses the altar, tabernacle, and reredos in the apse, all designed by Velarde. Mosaic tiling of abstract and figurative designs covers the walls of the apse and sanctuary, extending to the chancel arch, and was added later. The broad nave exhibits a barrel vaulted roof supported by exposed brick arcade with wide arches defining the narrow aisles and brick pilasters. The original bench pews, with fluted-arched ends, have been rearranged around a carpeted social space. Relief sculptures depicting the stations of the cross are found on the nave arcade walls, alongside an altar front and crucifix created by H Tyson Smith. The organ loft and gallery are located at the rear of the nave, overlooking the central narthex/refreshment area. A marble font, lacking its cover, stands at the front of the church. The arcade leading to the side chapel is blocked, except for an entrance door from the south aisle. The side chapel contains a marble altar and a painted reredos at its apsidal end. A door provides access to the presbytery, with original windows and doors extending as far as the presbytery's front door, beyond which alterations have occurred.

The church represents a fine and coherent example of Velarde’s work. It remains largely unaltered from its original form, retaining a rich and intact interior.