Church of St Paul is a Grade II* listed building in the Sheffield local planning authority area, England. A Modern Church. 1 related planning application.
Church of St Paul
- WRENN ID
- gaunt-plinth-starling
- Grade
- II*
- Local Planning Authority
- Sheffield
- Constituency
- Penistone and Stocksbridge MP: Dr Marie Tidball (Lab)
- Country
- England
- Type
- Church
- Period
- Modern
- Address
- Church of St Paul, Wordsworth Avenue, S5 9JH
- OS grid reference
- SK 353 930
- Coordinates
- 53.43319, -1.4693
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The Church of St Paul is a Grade II* listed building designed by Basil Spence and constructed between 1958 and 1959. It features a tall rectangular aisleless space made of red brick, topped with a copper segmental barrel vaulted roof. The church has a covered way at the front that extends west to a tall tower, which consists of two parallel brick walls connected by concrete beams and topped with a cross. A vestry is attached to the south of the church via a glazed corridor. The north and south walls are solid brick, while both ends are fully glazed with varnished timber frames, featuring six lights and a horizontal band of 12 smaller lights at single storey height. The glazing wraps around the north and south sides as a recessed clerestory beneath the segmental barrel roof, which has 10 lights in varnished timber frames.
Inside, the church has exposed brick walls with a shallow zig-zag pattern. The segmental barrel roof is supported by criss-crossed tubular supports set diagonally. The sanctuary is raised by a step, with the altar positioned against a vertical slatted screen added later. The altar rail and sanctuary seating were designed by Spence. A mezzanine gallery at the west end is accessed by an original staircase with an open balustrade and thick timber handrail, housing the organ and choir stalls. The balcony front features two thick horizontal timber bands, connected by light, painted metal supports at wide intervals. The font, located in the central aisle beneath the gallery, is made of textured concrete and flares outwards above and below a narrow point just under halfway down. The altar frontal is an applique design by Beryl Dene, and there are a pair of candlesticks on the altar by Basil Spence. The pews are made of laminated timber, also designed by Spence. St Paul's is noted for its unusually transparent design and is considered Spence's best small church.
Local climate
Church of St Paul receives an average of 890 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 65% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 53% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 39 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 76% of listed buildings. Of these, 21 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
More on this building
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- No EPC on record for this property
- No sale records on file
- Related listed building consents — 1 application
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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