Roman Catholic Church of St Patrick, along with the attached steps and railings

Roman Catholic Church of St Patrick

This Roman Catholic church, designed by WC Mangan of Preston and built between 1928 and 1929, is a striking example of Hiberno-Romanesque architecture. The building comprises a church, church hall, vestry and other facilities arranged across two storeys. The church itself is raised at street level above a deep undercroft which extends beneath the pavement along Beachfield Road, incorporating the subsidiary spaces below.

The exterior is constructed of coursed ashlar faced in concrete-based reconstructed stone, with a slate roof. The building adopts a cruciform plan oriented to the cardinal north-west to south-east. The west elevation, which faces onto Beachfield Road, features a tripartite porch containing the main entrance accessed via a set of steps that sail over the church hall beneath. The double-leaf door is surrounded by a carved arch with mouldings of three orders and elaborately carved cushion capitals, flanked by carved square pilasters. The porch is topped by an effigy of St Patrick and a block of trefoil-detail carving within the gable. Above the porch, the west gable includes a single-light round-headed window with a carved surround and a block of stonework carved with a Celtic motif. To the right stands a tall, slender cylindrical bell tower with louvres at the top and a conical roof. Flat buttresses at the building's corners are linked by an arched corbel table. The side elevations and east end feature tall, narrow windows on both levels, with paired windows at the lower level. A plat band separates the two storeys, and a drip mould runs between and around the tops of the upper windows. The north and south transepts have pitched roofs; the north transept is double-pile and incorporates a shallow porch with a double-leaf side entrance at its lower level, topped by a stepped roof. A two-storey projecting bay with a pitched roof projects from the north transept's left return. The building retains original metal drain goods, though some sections of pipe and guttering have been replaced with plastic. The roof is steeply pitched and topped with Celtic crosses above the gables.

The undercroft projects beyond the church's west end where it is topped by a flat felt-covered roof and partly extends under the pavement.

The interior is an undivided church space topped by a tunnel vaulted ceiling with transverse arches supported by pilasters with alternating carved capitals. The nave and transept have a parquet floor, while the sanctuary is carpeted and may retain original tiles beneath. A decorative arched corbel table links the heads of the windows. The west wall of the nave features a five-bay arcade; the larger central arch opens to the porch and is flanked by a pair of stone stoops, while two smaller arches on the right serve the confessional and two open arches on the left formerly served the baptistery. The sanctuary arch and sanctuary are decorated with nailhead and dogtooth carvings, alongside more Celtic forms. The high altar, font, ambo and arcading behind the altar display similar carved detailing. To the right of the sanctuary lies a shallow south chapel beneath a tall arch, and to the left are two similar arches opening into the north transept, which contains a further chapel with a lower arch on its east return wall opening into the chapel sanctuary. Both chapels retain their original altars and inbuilt stoops with carved arches. The stained glass throughout is by the Harry Clarke Studios of Dublin, incorporating slender figures designed in a Byzantine-influenced style. The pews are plain with open backs and represent later replacements.

A stairwell in the north transept features a bell with decorative metal bracket and pull, and a flight of stone steps with a timber handrail descending to the undercroft. At the bottom is a kitchen area and entrance lobby to the north transept. The vestry beneath the sanctuary includes an inbuilt stone stoop. Parquet floors extend throughout the lower level together with panelled doors. Beneath the nave lies the church hall with a stage at one end. Partially glazed doors lead into a corridor providing access to the service area and toilets located beyond the west end of the church and extending under the pavement; further partially glazed doors provide access to the yard to the north.

The church is bounded to the west and north by a wall topped by painted metal railings featuring ichthys detailing. The front elevation is flanked by two sets of steps descending from the pavements to the undercroft; one features an angled banister.

A late 20th-century ramp with matching-style railing, added to the side of the west porch and oversailing part of the lower storey, is not included in the listing.