Roman Catholic Church Of St Teresa Of Avila, With Attached Presbytery (Number 27)

The Roman Catholic Church of St Teresa of Avila, with an attached presbytery (number 27), was built in 1897 by Sinnott, Sinnott and Powell. A foundation stone dated 1897 is visible in the west gable of the church. The building is constructed of red brick with red sandstone and buff terracotta dressings, and has slate roofs. It is set in Birkdale, Southport, on the east side of Everton Road.

The church and presbytery are designed as a single composition, with the presbytery linked to the north side of the nave by a short, enclosed cloister. The church is in an Early English style and has an unusual concentric cruciform plan, consisting of a narrow nave opening onto broad, full-height two-bay aisles beneath hipped roofs. Other features include a fleche over the crossing, short gabled transepts to each aisle, and a chancel forming the fourth arm of the cross.

The west gable of the nave has two lancet windows and a rose window, all with hood moulds, and an apex cross. The south side has a gabled porch to the first bay and five lancet windows with hood moulds featuring carved stops. A doorway is set within the protruding west angle of the south aisle, while the gable of the north transept has a bellcote. Internally, the church features a wide central space with two-bay arcades, each with two-centred arches on cylindrical piers with carved foliated caps. Four altars are present, one in the north aisle, two in the south, and one in the chancel, each with carved reredoses. There are also stained glass windows, including one by Hardman of Birmingham.

The attached presbytery has a short south-east wing linked to the church by a single-storey range. It is a two-storey building with an attic and a pyramidal roof. The west facade features a red terracotta string course, sandstone impost bands to both floors, and a sloped cornice of five corbelled courses. The ground floor has a wooden canted bay window to the right and a three-light mullioned window to the left with chamfered mullions and segmental-headed sash windows with glazing bars in the upper leaf. Matching windows are present on the upper floor. A large four-light attic dormer with a hipped roof and apex cross sits atop the building, and a cruciform chimney stack is centrally positioned with a corbelled cornice. The south side has simpler single-light windows. The interior has not been inspected.