Roman Catholic Church of St Mary

Roman Catholic Church of St Mary

This Roman Catholic church was built in 1848 to designs by George J Wigley. It has been simplified and reordered in the later twentieth century.

The building is constructed of locally fired red and blue vitrified brick laid in header bond, with Bath stone dressings, over a brick plinth with stone capping, and is roofed in slate.

The plan comprises an aisled nave of five bays with a chancel of two bays at the east end, flanked by side chapels. A southern passageway connects the nave to the sacristy. The main entrance is positioned at the west end, which is surmounted by a bellcote rather than a tower.

The five-bay west front is the most elaborate elevation. Stepped buttresses flank the central bay. The main entrance features a four-centred stone archway with a recessed porch supported on corbel brackets and a machiolated cornice. Above this are stone panels inscribed with the coat of arms of the Plunkett family and the motto "Festina Lente" (More haste, less speed), beneath a three-light lancet window enclosed by a stone Tudor arch. A small lancet window sits above, with the bellcote featuring a triangular pediment and stone detailing. The flanking bays have angled buttresses and contain two lancet windows within stone architraves. The north side displays a single lancet, and the south side carries a carved stone plaque.

The side and rear elevations are more simply treated, featuring small paired lancets divided by stepped buttresses. The east window comprises five lancets within a stone architrave. The nave and aisle roofs are separated by three courses of brick, the upper course moulded. A wing to the south containing the passageway and sacristy has diagonal buttresses and small pointed windows with leaded lights.

Internally, the pointed chancel and aisle arches are chamfered and stand on moulded capitals and octagonal piers. Both the nave and chancel ceilings feature pierced Tudor-style timber trusses resting on stone corbels.

The sanctuary and side chapels contain painted panels, formerly serving as the reredos, depicting scenes from the life of St Benedict and executed by Gabriel Pippet in 1913 in Pre-Raphaelite character. The stone altar is a late twentieth-century addition. The east window is by William Wailes and depicts the Crucifixion with Our Lady and St John. In its lower panels is a frieze showing the instruments of the Passion and the pelican, a symbol of Christ, with the initial "W" marking Wailes's work. The east windows of the flanking chapels are by Hardman and include representations of the Annunciation, a guardian angel and a Santiago de Compostela pilgrim. These chapels also contain stained glass recording the Marian years of 1950 and 1986, the latter including glass by David John. A small window in the north wall depicts St Joseph.

The nave windows contain devotional stained glass. At the west end is a marble relief carving of the Madonna and Child, Italian Baroque in character. On the south wall hangs a bronze depicting a seated figure holding keys. A later timber vestibule surmounted by a gallery and organ occupies the west end.