Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady and St Alphonsus with attached covered way

Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady and St Alphonsus with Attached Covered Way

This Roman Catholic church was designed by Charles Hansom and completed in 1846, with internal fittings created by Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin. The buildings are constructed of Cradley stone with Forest of Dean stone dressings, and the church has a slate roof.

The church is orientated east to west with a nave and aisles contained beneath a single roof, and a lower chancel to the east. A large south porch projects from the main body, and to the north, a covered way links the church with the presbytery.

The exterior of the nave is executed in Early English style and is based on the medieval church at Skelton in Yorkshire. The tall continuous roof sweeps over both nave and aisles, descending to low walls pierced by simple lancet windows with small buttresses between them and a continuous stringcourse. The south porch features a large pointed arch opening with a deeply moulded surround and ballflower decoration to the capitals of the shafts. The internal door is similarly detailed, and the sides of the porch have benches with pointed arcades above them and an iron gate enclosing the entrance. The western end displays three tall windows separated by tall buttresses, with an oculus above the central window and a carved stone cross at the apex of the gable. A gabled organ chamber projects from the north aisle. The covered way extends from the sacristy at the eastern end, connecting to the presbytery to its north, and features two-light windows along its elevation. The chancel is executed in the Decorated style with two-light traceried windows in its north and south elevations and a large three-light east window with intricate tracery. A carved stone panel sits below this window, and a stone cross crowns the gable apex. The eastern elevation of the covered way is plain with buttresses and a door opening inserted during the Second World War. A bellcote sits at the eastern end of the main roof.

The interior retains a complete set of original fittings by Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin. The entire church is floored with Minton tiles to Pugin's designs, with more intricate patterns in the side chapels and chancel. Stained glass windows by William Wailes are distributed throughout. The nave contains timber pews with pointed heads and cut-out trefoil ends, and is divided from the aisles by arcades of tall pointed arches on quatrefoil piers. A ribbed vault springs from corbels with carved angels above the nave. The aisles have lean-to timber ceilings, with sections over the eastern chapels featuring stencilled decoration to the ceilings and wall heads. Both side chapels are separated from the nave and aisles by painted timber screens and contain painted stone altars with reredoses. The northern chapel includes a recess under a carved and painted stone hood. The chancel is separated from the nave by an ornate timber rood screen across the deeply moulded pointed chancel arch with clustered shafts. The screen is divided into three sections, with the central section providing access to the chancel and flanking sections containing open tracery panels, all painted. The chancel contains collegiate seating with misericords, a sedilia and piscina in the south wall, and an aumbry in the north wall with a painted and carved surround. A carved stone altar stands before a reredos of five cusped ogee arches. The chancel ceiling is rib-vaulted, springing from carved piers on angel corbels with crocketted ribs and ornate painted bosses. The window reveals are also painted. The covered way features a tiled floor throughout and a vaulted timber ceiling with chamfered posts.

In the churchyard stands the remains of a churchyard cross dating to 1846, now missing its top section.