Church Of St Alban The Martyr

The Church of St Alban the Martyr was built between 1879 and 1881 by J L Pearson. This large church is in an Early English style and has a cruciform plan. It is constructed of red brick with ashlar dressings and diaper work. The design is severe and relies on the contrast of brick and stone, except at the west end. The church features a very tall clerestory above the aisles, steep tiled roofs, and a buttressed apsidal chancel.

The west end is flanked by buttressed turrets with stone spires and open lancet arcaded caps. A shallow narthex leads to a doorway porch with multi-shafted orders and an applied gable against a blind arcade with quatrefoils above. The recessed doorway has a three-centred arch above a lancet arcade, containing a trefoiled rose window.

A south-west tower, originally intended to have a spire by Pearson, was only partially begun, and a less sympathetic square tower with a humpback roof was completed in 1938 by E F Reynolds.

The interior is the primary feature of interest. While the nave lacks length in relation to the soaring elevations, resulting in a sense of cramped proportions, the pointed arches to the ambulatory arcading and the narrower ones of the nave returning into the transepts are notable. Piers have shafting, and the arches are richly moulded. These shafts carry the ribs of the stone vaulting, particularly fine in the chancel. There is a triforium gallery passage with a trefoil balustrade. Very tall, fine two-light clerestory windows are set within the structure. The northern side is deeply expressed internally, with a three-bay arcade facilitating a shallow baptistry and a gallery (though at a lower level than the triforium). This feature contributes to the perceived shortness of the nave. The south chapel window has freestanding shafts to very narrow lights. An open iron screen separates the chancel. A polychrome rood is present, as is a painted triptych in copper panels, a piece of Arts and Crafts work by Kate and Myra Bunce from 1919, located in the south chapel. The east window contains stained glass by Henry Payne, while the remaining windows have clear or tinted leaded glass. Despite design shortcomings, the quality of the interior finishes and the combination of brick and stone undoubtedly influenced the young Bidlake.