Church Of St Catherine

The Church of St Catherine is a medieval church, substantially rebuilt in the 18th century (1717) and altered in a Victorian Gothic style (1872). It is a classical design, representing a complete rebuilding of 1717, characterized by a regular form and symmetrical end elevations. The church comprises a five-bay nave, north and south transepts, a chancel, a western porch on the south side, and a vestry on the north side, along with a large western tower.

The exterior is constructed of red brick in Flemish bond, with decorative brindle brick features. It includes a band below the parapet, quoins, and plain pilasters. The window and door openings have cambered heads with stone keys and impost blocks, topped by plain architraves. A deep stone-coped parapet runs around the building, stepped at the transept gables, featuring semi-circular tops to those gables and a raised centrepiece at the east end. Window openings contain coupled round-headed lights framed in red brickwork.

The prominent west tower is divided into three stages. It has a stone coping to the tall parapet, curved at each corner, set on stone pedestals at the corners. A stone modillion cornice runs around the tower, with quoins composed of alternating white chamfered stone blocks and narrower brindle brickwork, along with brindle bands and a plinth. The upper stage features an opening with cornice and pulvinated frieze within an architrave surround. The middle stage’s west side has an arched opening with a keystone, while the lower stage originally incorporated a west doorway (now filled) formed by massive rusticated blocks. The tiled roof is partially obscured by the high parapets and gables.

Inside, the church displays plain classical features and numerous details from the period. The east wall is panelled and framed by an Ionic Order of three-quarter columns and pilasters. There are wrought-iron altar rails, and remnants of a taller wrought-iron chancel screen (two gilded side pieces remaining). The pulpit and reading desk are matching panelled rostra, accessed through archways. The nave and south chancel retain their original panelled pews, while the north and south doorways have architraves and eight-panelled doors. A stone baluster font is also present. The nave roof retains arch braced trusses and arched wind braces, representing a survival from the medieval church. Other features include a brass candelabra at the crossing, black and white marble diagonal paving in the chancel, and a painted Royal Coat of Arms dating from 1846. Victorian Gothic alterations, primarily the replacement of windows with brick-framed round-headed lights and the removal of the west gallery, have not significantly disrupted the Georgian character of the building.