Church of the Sacred Heart, and attached Presbytery

Church of the Sacred Heart and Presbytery

A Roman Catholic church with attached presbytery, built between 1914 and 1916. The church was designed by Father Benedict Williamson in collaboration with architect John Henry Beart Fosse. The buildings are constructed of brick faced in Weldon stone.

The church is rectangular on plan, oriented roughly north to south rather than following liturgical orientation. A roughly square presbytery is attached to the south-east, and a square baptistry is attached to the south-west of the church.

The church features a gabled roof with a squared-off tower positioned to the east above the sanctuary. The main western frontage facing Wymering Road displays a large perpendicular style window above a segmental-headed door set within a moulded rectangular frame. A wheel-headed finial cross tops the gable apex. The single-storey baptistry, attached to the right (west) corner, has a kneelered gable end facing west.

The nave comprises five bays. The north elevation has five high-level windows with curvilinear tracery, whilst the west bay contains a segmental-headed door. The east elevation is dominated by a two-stage tower with a perpendicular style window designed to flood the sanctuary with light from the east during Matins without glare. The tower's upper stage contains louvred belfry windows with curvilinear tracery. A polygonal stair turret is centrally positioned on the tower's east elevation, entered via a segmental-headed door in its east side. The stair turret displays slit windows and blind curvilinear tracery to its top stage, which rises above the parapet.

The attached two-storey presbytery faces east and features symmetrical mullioned windows in both storeys set within canted bays. A segmental-headed front door is positioned between the bays, with a trefoil-headed paired window immediately to its right (north), both having hoodmoulds. Above the door on the upper storey is an empty niche with projecting support and canopy, flanked by narrow mullioned windows. The south gable-end includes a projecting chimney stack. To the west, the presbytery connects to the nave via a single-storey flat-roofed sacristy and further two-storey range to the south-west, with an attached single-storey range beyond; both ranges have kneelered gables.

Interior

The church is entered through a timber draught lobby with a pair of leaded glazed doors. On the north wall above the lobby, small organ pipes are positioned either side of the window.

A wide stone archway in the south-west corner to the right of the main doors leads into the baptistry. This space contains trefoil-headed windows in the east and west walls (one each) and two in the south wall, all with plain glass in leaded lights. An octagonal stone font sits at the centre.

The nave is open to a king post roof structure with moulded stone corbels beneath the end of each tie-beam. Five bays are expressed through five Decorated style windows on each side, positioned high above a continuous string course. The glass is plain except for bright dot motifs in liturgical colours. Fixed pews with square ends line the space.

A pointed, moulded stone sanctuary arch supports the tower above. The sanctuary has a panelled, painted ceiling with a removable panel for hauling items into the tower. Four very small rectangular recessed windows occupy the east wall, whilst a large Perpendicular style window in the south elevation provides side lighting. A fixed painting of a copy of Veronese's Holy Family with the Child Baptist, Tobias and the Angel, with a moulded and painted surround, is mounted to the east wall. A trefoil-arched piscina is set into the south wall, and an aumbry occupies the north wall. Stone altar rails with alabaster tops and Gothic arches flank the sanctuary entrance. The floor comprises white and black tiles. The altar stands on a stone stepped plinth, with a plain stone reredos behind.

Small stone altars with Gothic mouldings and blind tracery are positioned either side of the sanctuary arch. The north altar dates from 1923 and serves as a war memorial; the western altar is dedicated to the Lady.

A four-centred arched, panelled double door opens to the sacristy, which connects to the presbytery. The presbytery retains some original doors with leaded glass panels. Upstairs, a room features an arched opening overlooking the sanctuary and a squint for observing the nave.