Church Of St Saviour'S On The Cliff Including Church Hall

Church of St Saviour's on the Cliff Including Church Hall

Church and church hall on Queen's Road, Shanklin. The earliest part dates from 1869, designed by Thomas Hellyer of Ryde in Early English style and comprised a nave, chancel, vestry and organ chamber. The south aisle and porch were added in 1871, followed by the north aisle and church hall in 1876. The tower and spire were completed in 1887, with the Galilee porch and baptistery added in 1905 by W O Milne.

The main body of the church is built of Isle of Wight stone rubble, except for the baptistery, Galilee porch and tower, which are of ashlar, with a tiled roof throughout. The plan comprises a 4-bay nave with a lower 2-bay chancel, north and south aisles, a south porch, a semi-circular baptistery to the south-west linked by a Galilee porch to a north-west tower with spire.

The nave features clerestory windows with alternate quatrefoil and cinquefoil lights flanked by lancets. The south aisle has buttresses and 3 triple lancets. The west gable displays a sexfoil window above and 2 double trefoliated lancets below with small quatrefoils above. The north aisle contains 3 pointed arched windows with trefoils under hood moulding and 2 lancets in the end bay. The chancel has 2 double trefoliated windows with large quatrefoils above and a gable with a cross-shaped saddlestone. A double plinth runs throughout.

The south porch is gabled with a pointed arched entry featuring dwarf columns and a wooden arch-braced roof. The baptistery is apsidal-ended with buttresses and lancet windows. The Galilee porch has a central porch with a round-headed arch dying into buttresses, flanked by triple lancet windows.

The north-west tower comprises 4 stages and changes from square to octagonal in the final stage, with stepped buttresses and a semi-circular stair turret to the south-west. The bell chamber contains tall lancets. The porch has a pointed arch with dogtooth ornament and triple attached columns. The 2nd stage has 2 plain lancets and the 3rd stage features an arched recess with 3 lancets. The tower is topped with an elaborate stone spire with bands of carving surmounted by an iron weathervane and elaborate gargoyle waterspouts.

Interior: The baptistery contains an elaborate stone font with an octagonal bowl supported on 4 granite columns with a wooden font cover. The nave has arches on circular columns, a boarded arch-braced roof resting on stone corbels, and an elaborate carved oak pulpit dating from 1903. A war memorial altar by Macdonald Grill was installed in 1921. The chancel features an oak screen and stalls of 1902 and a boarded arch-braced roof. The sanctuary has a marble and gold reredos of 1876 depicting the Ascension, marble and mosaic walls dating from 1914, and triple sedilia.

The church hall is attached to the north and dates from 1876. It is built of Isle of Wight stone rubble with a tiled roof and has an L-shaped plan. The west elevation features a hipped 4-light dormer and a tiled and wooden verandah. The south elevation has 2 scallop-tiled gables with moulded wooden bargeboards containing triple-mullioned and transomed casements, with a tiled verandah supported on 5 stone piers. The gable end contains a 4-light mullioned and transomed window under a flat relieving arch.