The Church Of St Mary Magdalene

The Church of St Mary Magdalene is a parish church built in 1888 to the designs of E B Ferrey. It is constructed from stock brick with orange brick and ashlar dressings, and has plain tile roofs. The church comprises a broad nave with side aisles, a chancel, and a side chapel. The raised coped gables feature ashlar coping and brick kneelers.

The west front has three tall, pointed arched windows with ashlar Y-tracery, flanked by four brick buttresses with orange brick set-offs. The two central buttresses are deeper and rise above the central window to join, incorporating a small central circular window with ashlar cusping. These buttresses extend further to form the base of a double arched and gabled ashlar bellcote. A pointed arched doorway with double doors and another circular window with ashlar cusping are found on the south aisle, while the north aisle has six narrow brick lancet windows. The nave clerestory has three lancet windows on each side, and the chancel has two three-light and a single tall two-light windows on each side, all with reticulated ashlar tracery. The chancel east end also features three tall, pointed arched windows – a central three-light window flanked by two-light windows, all with reticulated ashlar tracery.

Inside, the nave has five-bay arcades with double chamfered orange brick arches supported on circular, painted ashlar columns with carved capitals. A fine stone font with a square ashlar bowl is located at the west end, supported on polished marble columns. The church features Minton tile floors and carved wooden pews. The plain brick chancel arch retains a finely carved timber rood screen with ornate bronze gates. To the right of the screen is an openwork timber pulpit also supported on polished marble columns. The chancel has a Minton tile floor, ornate carved timber choirstalls, and a brass and timber altar rail. The raised altar sits atop four polished marble steps with terrazzo floors, backed by a triple canopied ashlar reredos decorated with carved and gilded wooden panels. Boarded timber roofs are present throughout, with exposed and cusped timber trusses. The windows contain a variety of interesting late-Victorian and 20th-century stained glass. The church is largely unaltered and retains a very fine and well-preserved interior with high-quality fixtures and fittings.