Church of Holy Ghost and Mary Immaculate

Church of Holy Ghost and Mary Immaculate

A Roman Catholic church built between 1926 and 1929, designed by George Bernard Cox of Harrison and Cox, Birmingham, in a combination of Early-French and Early-English Gothic styles. It was constructed for the Order of Capuchin Friars of the Franciscan Monastery of the Immaculate Conception. Part of the original timber nave roof was destroyed by fire in 1970.

The walls are built in Flemish-bond red brick with ashlar-stone dressings, and the roofs are covered in Westmorland slate.

The church has a cruciform plan comprising an aisle-less nave to the south-west, a Lady Chapel to the north-west, a chancel to the north-east, and a side chapel with campanile to the south-east. The church is attached to the former seminary school to the east. For descriptive purposes, the chancel is treated as being at the east end and the nave to the west.

At the west end is a stone frieze displaying a row of carved shields bearing the coats of arms of the Franciscan order, beneath which sits a five-light west window with cusped tracery. Below the window is a red-brick narthex added in 1970–71, which is of lesser architectural interest. The corners where the church meets the narthex are chamfered. Both the north and south sides of the nave feature alternating projecting bays with chamfered corners; the south side includes alternating half-height bays in addition to full-height ones. Brick buttresses with stone gabled caps mark the nave bays. The nave is lit by tracery-headed lancet windows.

At the east end, the north elevation contains a small Lady Chapel with lancet windows and an apse featuring incised cruciform detailing at one gable end. A separate flat-roof entrance porch sits beneath a traceried Reuleaux window. The chancel has a central two-light window with quatrefoil flanked by single-light windows on its north elevation. Above is a canopied statue niche containing a figure of the Virgin and Child; the face of Jesus has recently been re-cut following weather damage. The east end terminates in a polygonal apse decorated with a central recessed brick arch incorporating a rosary window.

To the south of the chancel lies the side chapel, lit by four lancet windows and featuring a stone drip course incorporating grotesques. The vestry range extends further south with a variety of lancet, mullion and pointed-arch openings. A blocked opening on the first floor above the covered walkway was originally intended to provide access to the friary. The range includes the campanile, topped by a brick-and-ashlar stone bell tower with double and single-lancet openings beneath a pyramidal roof. Cast-iron rainwater goods, including hoppers decorated with embossed 'F's, complete the external detailing.

The interior narthex, added in the 1970s, houses the vestibule and an enclosed timber staircase ascending to the nave gallery. The west gallery is decorated with carvings including shields bearing interpretations of the Passion on its fascia. The aisle-less nave is flanked by alternating bays containing side chapels with shrines and altars, and pairs of confessionals. The floor is stone with green-marble detailing and the walls are plain plaster. The nave is covered by a pointed barrel-vaulted Oregon-pine roof with timber transverse arches supported by pilasters topped by carved wooden angles bearing shields.

The Lady Chapel is housed in the north transept, separated from the nave by an arcade with polished stone columns and leaf capitals. It contains a polychrome marble altar and altar rail, and a set of stained glass donated by and dedicated to the family of G B Cox. Adjacent to the chapel is a pulpit dating from the 1930s. A pointed chancel arch and polychrome-marble communion rail separate the chancel from the nave. The chancel has a groin-vaulted ceiling and a marble floor with mosaic decoration depicting motifs relating to the Franciscan order. Beyond lies another stone arch framing the apse, which houses the high altar, stone piscina and a more elaborate timber-vaulted roof. To the south sits a side chapel designed for the friars, containing high-quality oak furnishings, a parquet floor and a figure of Our Lady in a carved timber aedicule. Above this chapel is a first-floor organ gallery featuring an open arcade with timber balconies overlooking the chapel.

Opposite the Lady Chapel is a double-leaf timber door providing access to the vestry, which contains an inbuilt full-height safe. A further set of double doors leads into the interior of the campanile and a staircase with a carved timber banister. The newel posts are topped with animal sculptures. Sets of ladders lead to the upper stages and the bell turret.