Church Of St Paul

Church of St Paul, Royal Leamington Spa

Church, built 1873–84, with later additions and alterations including work of circa 1980. Designed by John Cundall of Leamington. Constructed in reddish-brown brick with purple brick and ashlar dressings; cement-tile roof. Early English Gothic Revival style.

The church comprises a four-bay nave with clerestory and aisles, a three-stage north tower and steeple positioned to the second bay, north and south transepts, a two-bay chancel with south chapel, vestry and church rooms, and a north office and youth rooms. The north side of the church faces Leicester Street with entrance on the north side.

The exterior features a double-chamfered plinth. The nave is buttressed with offsets and pinnacles between bays. Each bay has three cusped lancets with continuous chamfered sill band and continuous hoodmould. The clerestory has pairs of two-light windows with plate tracery to each bay and continuous hoodmould, topped by a modillion cornice.

The tower has clasping buttresses with offsets to two stages. The first stage entrance comprises double plank doors in a Caernarvon arched surround within a solid pointed arch with three orders of shafts with foliate capitals and roll-moulding above. A stair turret is positioned to the west of the lower stage. A first-stage band separates the stages. To the second stage are two slit lancets to the north, followed by a second-stage band. Two-light tall belfry windows to each side feature two orders of arches on slender columns with hoodmoulds. A band with trefoil decoration sits above, with further gabled belfry openings to the steeple base.

The west end contains a twentieth-century extension with plate-glass double doors giving access to a corridor. The west end proper has a pointed-arched opening with hoodmould; above this is a five-light window with geometrical-type tracery to the head.

The north transept has a plank door in a double-chamfered, pointed-arched surround with quatrefoil to the arch. Both transept ends feature circular windows with geometrical-type tracery and bands to the gable. The north transept's east side carries a steeple. The east end has a five-light window with geometrical-type tracery to the head, bands, and quatrefoil to the gable.

The interior comprises one and a half bays at the west end of the nave with a balcony, which together with the aisles are partitioned below to form church rooms. The arcade features pointed-arched, double-chamfered openings with inner order of roll-moulding on red granite columns with water-holding bases and foliate capitals; gault brick arches rise above with continuous hoodmould. Windows have chamfered surrounds; clerestory windows have a single order of shafts with roll-moulding to the head.

The nave has a scissor-braced roof. The transepts contain pierced balconies with areas below now partly blocked to form church rooms and vestry. The crossing features tall, wide double-chamfered arches on square piers with inner order of roll-moulding on corbel capitals.

The chancel's north aisle formerly contained the organ, accessed by a pointed-arched opening now blocked. To the south, the Lady chapel has a pierced screen. The east end has a seven-bay wall arcade with slender shafts and roll-moulding to the head, and a hammer-beam roof. A stone pulpit has column clusters below and column shafts with foliate capitals to the body, with a similar but lower lectern beside it. The church contains some stained glass.

A foundation stone inscription at the base of the north transept reads: "TO THE GLORY OF GOD / THIS FOUNDATION STONE OF / S. PAUL'S CHURCH WAS LAID BY / WILLIAM WILLES ESQ.RE 15TH MAY 1873".

John Cundall also designed Leamington Spa Town Hall on the Parade. The church forms an interesting architectural group with St Paul's Parochial Rooms and Church House.