Church of St Mary of the Angels (Roman Catholic)

Church of St Mary of the Angels (Roman Catholic)

St Mary of the Angels is a large stone-built Roman Catholic church occupying a corner site on Moorhouse Road. The church was begun in 1851 to original designs by Thomas Meyer, but only partially completed. Building resumed in 1857 under the supervision of Henry Clutton. Outer aisles, side chapels and other additions were added by JF Bentley between 1869 and 1887.

The church is constructed of coursed ragstone with ashlar dressings under a slate roof. It is conventionally oriented and comprises a narrow seven-bay nave with clerestory and double aisles to the north and south, with a tower to the southwest. The sanctuary is square-ended and flanked by two side chapels to the north and one to the south, with sacristies to the southeast.

The exterior is in the Geometric Gothic-Revival style and is dominated by a robust heavily buttressed four-stage tower, with the belfry stage added around 1920. The roofs are double pitched over the nave and aisles, with the chancel demarcated by a lower ridge line embellished by cresting. A diminished pyramidal roof covered in lead rises over the tower. The west front has a five-light traceried window over a pointed-arched entrance flanked by cusped lancets. The aisles are lit by lancets, and the clerestory has spheric triangles characterised by a variety of tracery patterns. To the east, the windows are in the Decorated style, with the main east window having five lights. The tower has pointed arched openings to its first stage, tall twin light Geometric windows to the second stage, intricate traceried circular windows to the third stage, and louvred cusped lancets in pairs to the belfry. Carved gargoyle spouts appear on the sacristy, which terminates the south aisle and is lower, lit by paired lancets.

The interior comprises a six-bay nave that is unusually tall and narrow, giving onto double aisles to the north and south. The inner arcades are of clustered limestone columns with moulded heads. The north outer aisle has an arcade of robust circular columns with simple foliated capitals, alternated with deep rectangular piers. The arcade to the south outer aisle is similar but the columns have plain capitals and the piers are embellished with slender paired shafts. The nave is covered by a waggon roof of stained timber, divided into panels by timber ribs and having a deep double-cavetto cornice spanned by notched beams over pierced braces. The inner aisle roofs have flat ceilings supported on pierced arch braces. The north outer aisle has simple applied panelling, while the south outer aisle has a ribbed vaulted ceiling.

The former baptistery at the west end of the outer north aisle contains iron railings and gates of 1868 by Bentley in a 12th century style, with a statue of St John the Baptist in the spandrel of the two arches. The former mortuary chapel of the Holy Souls in the base of the tower is now partly a repository and also houses a wheelchair lift. The split organ on the west gallery is the original organ of 1857 by William Hill & Son.

The north aisle houses a marble and alabaster altar dedicated to St Joseph, complete with reredos, designed by Bentley in 1874 with the reredos and frontal painted by Westlake. Between the two north aisles is a sculptural group of St John and the Virgin Mary sculpted by Mr Kirk, brother of Fr Kirk OSC. Further east in the outer north aisle is the Sacred Heart altar of marble and alabaster with mosaics of the Virgin Mary flanked by two saints.

At the east end of the outer north aisle is the St Charles Borromeo Chapel, added by Bentley in 1887. The altar dates from 1903 (F W Tasker), with a reredos by Hardman & Powell including a painting of St Charles. Set into the north wall is an oak cupboard by Bentley for the chasuble of St Charles. The chapel at the east end of the inner north aisle was originally the Chapel of St Charles and in 1887 became the Chapel of the Holy Ghost. The mosaic floor, metal side screens and alabaster altar with marble panels date from 1912 (George Powell). A statue of Our Lady stands on the altar.

A square alabaster and marble font stands just west of the former Chapel of the Holy Ghost, of the same design as the forward altar and lectern and presumably from the same reordering scheme. A crucifix hangs in front of the chancel arch. The sanctuary has wrought-iron communion rails and screens to the side chapels. The forward altar and lectern have alabaster tracery and marble columns like the font. The high altar (1914, Jones & Willis) has an alabaster reredos with depictions of the Presentation and the Finding in the Temple flanking the monstrance throne and outer panels of Saints Ambrose and Charles. The frontal depicts the Sacrifice of Melchisedech and the Supper at Emmaus.

The inner southeast chapel is dedicated to Saints Helen and Mary Magdalen (by Bentley, 1876). It has a plain altar below a recessed stone panel painted with the saints' initials, which formerly held a relic aumbry by Bentley with painted doors by Westlake. Recesses on either side were apparently designed for similar aumbries but were later filled with oak and glass cupboards from St Charles College. Above the reredos is a strong moulding with four angels holding the Instruments of the Passion. The two windows above are framed by another moulding with two angels and a central crucifixion. Two statues of St Michael and St Theresa stand on stone pedestals.

The Lady Chapel in the outer south aisle was furnished by Bentley in 1872–74, including a wrought-iron grille (1876) to the side and an altar and reredos of Carrara marble with gilded Marian monograms and fleur-de-lys. It has been restored and refurbished by IFACS, with new stencil work under the direction of the parish priest Fr Alan Robinson, in collaboration with Chris Fanning of the Diocesan Property Office. The south wall of the outer south aisle has four built-in confessionals with decorative colonettes and cusped arched heads.

Several statues appear throughout the nave and aisles, including Saints Patrick, Joseph, Augustine and Francis. Apart from the clerestory and the west windows, all windows have stained glass. The six-light east window is by Jones & Willis. Seven south aisle windows have been attributed to Lavers, Barraud & Westlake (dated between 1877 and 1880), while three in the north aisle are signed by the firm (1868–70). Confirmed designs by Bentley include two two-light windows with female saints in the Lady Chapel (1871), the three-light Pentecost window in the former Holy Ghost chapel, four windows in the St Charles Chapel (circa 1888–89), and a three-light window in the north aisle (1895–6). The easternmost window in the outer north aisle depicts St Vincent de Paul, the Madonna and St John the Evangelist and is based on cartoons by John Hungerford Pollen for the Chapel of Studley Royal, North Yorkshire, which were adapted after his death as a memorial window to Pollen (1820–1902) and made by James Powell & Sons.