Our Lady And The First Martyrs Catholic Church

Our Lady and the First Martyrs Catholic Church is a Roman Catholic church dating from 1935. It was designed by J.H. Langtry Langton and subsequently altered internally. The church is constructed with a reinforced concrete frame, faced with rock-faced stone, and has slated roofs. It is built in a Norman Revival style and has an octagonal plan with a porch to the west and a vestry to the east. A dentilated eaves cornice runs around the building. The church is built on a sloping site, revealing a basement to the north.

The west-facing porch has a gabled form and features a large round arched doorway with double plank doors and a five-light overlight within a moulded arched surround, supported by columns with cushion capitals. Pairs of smaller round-headed windows flank the doorway, with columns positioned between. A round arched bellcote is located above the porch gable. The north and south sides each have seven small round-headed windows, the central one within a rusticated surround, and linked cills set in outer arcades with impost corbels to the outer arches. Prominent battered buttresses mark each corner. The east vestry has a hipped roof and three round-headed windows to each face. An octagonal lantern is surmounted by a small wooden cupola, featuring three round-headed windows on each face.

The north basement has five round-headed windows on its central side, four similar windows and a large round-headed doorway to the left, and a similar doorway and three windows to the right.

The interior walls are banded brick, rising to a chamfered coping at the impost level of the window arches. Piers with banded stone and brick rustication are located at each corner. Three arches are situated to the east and west, defined by moulded stone impost blocks. A double-stepped octagonal central dais is present, and the roof incorporates eight exposed and curved ribs with exposed purlins and rafters extending to the octagonal lantern. The lantern interior features a plaster entablature, a moulded impost band, and an octagonal central rose. Six original wooden benches remain against the walls on each side. Original glazed doors with overlights are located to the east, flanking the arches and leading to the central organ case. This church is notable as the first centralised church to be constructed in England during the 20th century.