Roman Catholic Church Of The English Martyrs

The Roman Catholic Church of the English Martyrs is a church built between 1892 and 1894 by A E Purdie, in a French Gothic style. A later extension was added in 1962, in a matching style, by T Sibthorpe to the north side, to accommodate altered liturgical requirements. The building is oriented north-northwest and constructed from coursed Kentish ragstone rubble with Bath stone dressings on most of the building, and Portland stone dressings to the spire, slate roof and spire.

The church has a five-bay nave with aisles, a three-bay chancel, a north chapel, and two south chapels, culminating in a south-west tower. The west end features a large traceried window and a smaller window to the north aisle. The elaborate entrance features three tiers of colonnettes; the central tier has a steep pediment. The three-stage south-west tower is topped with a broached spire, featuring narrow lucarnes and a metal finial. The bell stage has wooden louvres and three pointed arches on each face. The second stage has two lancet windows with statues of St Anselm and St Thomas of Canterbury. The lowest stage features a traceried window to the west and an arched doorcase also with three tiers of colonnettes. The five-bay nave has triple trefoil-headed and traceried windows placed below lancets, with trefoil decoration above. The chancel is similar, with a large traceried east window.

Inside, an arcade features circular columns with stiffleaf capitals and a scissor-braced roof supported by bosses and canopies above statues of Catholic martyrs. The roof was painted in the 1950s, a decorative feature originally planned but not executed. There are high relief Stations of the Cross with canopies, arched confessional doors, a carved west balcony, screen and the front row of pews. The church contains a complete set of Hardman glass, including depictions of the life of St Thomas More in the west window, scenes from the life of St John Fisher in the east window, and other saints and martyrs in various other windows. Clerestory glass was relocated to the 1962 extension. An octagonal font is located in the south chapel, and decorative bronze Communion Railings, originally from the main altar, have been re-sited there. The chancel has a painted ribbed roof and an elaborate altar with a marble and silver gilt tabernacle door depicting a pelican. The 1962 extension incorporates similar roof trusses, re-sited original doors, re-sited stained glass from the clerestory, and an elaborate late 19th-century Flemish carved wooden altar originally from the north chapel.