Church Of St Paul

Church of St Paul, with attached vicarage. Built in two phases: 1936–1937 and 1952, designed by N F Cachemaille-Day. Some later internal alterations carried out in 1976.

The church and vicarage are built of purplish Dutch brick laid in Flemish bond on the exterior, with paler Leicestershire brick, also in Flemish bond, to the interior. The roofs are of clay tile and felt.

The building follows a narrow basilica plan with a gabled west end and a semi-circular apse. The nave is flanked by lower, flat-roofed aisles with parapets. On the north side, the aisle is adjoined by the vicarage, set at right angles to the west front, and extends eastward to a shallow transept containing the choir. On the south side, the later 1952 aisle is adjoined by a single-storey flat-roofed porch and vestry, which in plan forms the south transept. The vicarage is attached to the north side of the west front at a right angle.

The gabled west front is flanked by broad brick piers. The west door is massive, with a flat hood supported on angled brick piers. Above the door is a circular window with a triple rubbed-brick moulding, and above this a corbelled brick pinnacle in the form of a Latin cross. The nave comprises five bays with a dentilated cornice and square, nine-light metal clerestory windows set within shallow inset brick surrounds in each bay (except the first two bays on the north side where the vicarage adjoins). The bays are separated by brick pilasters. The steeply pitched nave roof is covered with clay tiles. The apse has five narrow three-light rectangular metal windows set high up.

The south aisle has four bays separated by broad piers. The lower south porch and vestry occupy the eastern bay and overlap around its east end. The two central bays have large rectangular stained glass windows with the same inset brick surrounds as the clerestory windows. The western bay has a deeply recessed door with a concrete lintel extending over an adjoining metal window. The west elevation of the south aisle has a further door with a concrete lintel, whilst the door to the south porch has a flat concrete hood supported on the same type of angled brick piers as the main west door. On the north side of the building, the two western bays of the nave adjoin the vicarage. The central bay has the only visible external expression of the north aisle, with three narrow rectangular windows forming a clerestory for the side chapel and a lower block with three matching windows. The two eastern bays contain the choir transept.

The interior of the tall nave is light and spacious, with plastered walls and a gently pitched panelled wooden ceiling featuring broad tapering ribs which appear to be concrete but are in fact timber. At the centre of the radiating ribs to the apse is a large decorative boss in the form of a sunburst, from which hangs the original sanctuary lamp designed by the architect. The nave is of five bays with square Leicestershire grey brick pillars angled to become V-section pilasters at clerestory level, and extended as full-height pilasters to the apse. The original wood block floor remains, with concrete floors to the aisles. The chancel has three concrete steps and flooring, with two further broad curved steps up to the sanctuary. The choir in the north transept is defined by low brick walls, although these have been moved back from their original position. Similar walls also originally screened the sanctuary; these have been removed, replaced with wooden altar rails in 1976. The brick pulpit and lectern that adjoined the pillars either side of the chancel steps, and the font at the west door, have also been removed. The original timber-framed altar survives.

In the central bay of the apse is a statue of Christ Risen by Christopher Webb (1886–1966), who also created the heraldic stained glass for the apse windows. The west door has a concrete surround with a cross quadrate in relief above. The circular window above contains stained glass depicting the Ascension. The pilasters to the west wall retain the original copper triple-pendant light fittings, which have been removed elsewhere.

The north chapel contains furnishings from St Jude's, Grays Inn Road, demolished in 1934, including a gilded wrought iron grille and an Art Nouveau stained glass window of St Agatha dated 1911. The later south chapel is open to the nave and has a brick reredos reflecting the design of the angled pillars. The two stained glass windows, in a mid-Victorian style, date from the late 1940s to early 1950s.

The adjoining vicarage is of less architectural interest. It is of two storeys with a steeply pitched tile mansard roof. The main west elevation has eight bays on the upper storey, each with a rectangular metal window below a continuous concrete lintel, and seven bays on the lower storey with two doors. Internally, the vicarage is accessed from the church via the vestry in the north-west corner.

The parish of St Paul, Ruislip Manor was formed in 1936 from part of the original Ruislip parish which dated back to the 11th century. The new parish church of St Paul was built between 1936 and 1937 and designed by N F Cachemaille-Day. The design for the first part of the church was published in the 18 December 1936 edition of The Architect and Building News and allowed for the future addition of a south aisle and vestry, which were subsequently added in 1952, and a narthex at the west front which was never built. The original phase of construction included the vicarage attached to the south-west. The funds for building the church came from the sale of land at the site of the recently demolished St Paul's, Bunhill Row, hence the dedication. The foundation stone was laid by the Dean of Windsor on 18 July 1936 and the church was consecrated by the Bishop of London, A F Winnington Ingram, on 28 November the same year. The total cost including the vicarage was £10,950.

Nugent Francis Cachemaille-Day FRIBA (1896–1976) is best known for his churches. He had a prolific career straddling the Second World War. He initially worked with Louis de Soissons on the development of Welwyn Garden City before becoming chief assistant to Henry Stuart Goodhart-Rendel (later President of the RIBA), then setting up a practice with Felix J Lander (1898–1960) and subsequently Herbert A Welch (1884–1953) in 1930. After he set up his own practice in 1935, he concentrated on church design, completing around 50. His churches are noted for their 'thin' construction, concentrating on light and shade, and from the late 1930s he began to experiment with exposed concrete construction. Notable works include the churches of St Nicholas, Burnage, Manchester (Grade II); St Barnabas, Gloucester (Grade II); and the Church of the Epiphany, Leeds (Grade I).