Christ Church, including churchyard boundary wall

Christ Church is an Anglican church built between 1862 and 1865 to the design of architect Henry Woodyer in the Decorated Gothic style. Woodyer added a north aisle in 1882, and architect Charles Nicholson made substantial additions in 1925, including two vestries, a sacristy and a lady chapel, followed by new furnishings in 1934. The church underwent refurbishment in 2021.

The building is constructed of quarry-faced squared stone with ashlar dressings and red tiled roofs. It occupies a tight urban plot at the corner of Stoke Road and Avenue Road, orientated east-north-east to west-south-west to align with the street grid. The church comprises a tall clerestoried nave and chancel under one continuous roof flanked by north and south lean-to aisles, a gabled entrance with bellcote and porch at the west end of the south aisle, and two vestries, an organ loft and sanctuary at the north-east.

The main south front facing Stoke Road presents, from west to east, an original two-storey gabled south entrance with later single-storey gabled porch, the three-bay south aisle beneath the nave clerestory, a two-bay lady chapel, and the chancel. The original south entrance has a pointed bell niche in the gable, a quatrefoil window to the west wall, and angle buttresses. The later south porch features a pointed entrance arch of three orders resting on engaged columns with foliate capitals under a hoodmould with foliated stops. The wooden-boarded door has elaborate decorative wrought-iron strap hinges. A blind trefoil is set in a roundel in the gable, with paired trefoil-headed windows to the east and west walls. The south aisle has paired pointed windows separated by buttresses; each window is of two lights with geometric tracery incorporating a trefoil. A moulded cill course and low plinth runs beneath the windows. The pitched lean-to aisle roof continues over the first bay of the lady chapel, which is lit by three pointed windows under a single hoodmould, each of two lights with dagger tracery. The second bay of the lady chapel is blind under a flat roof with stone parapet, though there is a two-light pointed window to the east wall. Above this second bay rises a tall pointed chancel window of two cinque-foiled lights beneath geometric tracery with three quatrefoils under a hoodmould. The nave clerestory is formed of 15 octofoils set in arcades of pointed arches.

The east elevation facing Avenue Road is dominated by a large pointed arched east window of five cusped lights beneath geometric tracery incorporating trefoils and quatrefoils set under a hoodmould. It is flanked by diagonal buttresses topped by engaged columns supporting moulded kneelers. High up in the gable end, above the east window, is a small lancet window. Attached to the east end of the chancel is a single-storey sacristy and vestry added in 1925, running parallel with Avenue Road and filling the building plot at this end of the church. It contains three square-headed windows, variously of two or three pointed lights, under a flat roof.

The north aisle is of four bays, comprising three pointed arch windows and a pointed arched doorway of two moulded orders at the west end. The doorway has a pointed hoodmould set high above it with cusping to the soffit; the space between the doorway and hoodmould contains a small cusped niche. The hoodmould is supported on engaged columns with foliated stops. The wooden-boarded door has elaborate decorative wrought-iron strap hinges. The north aisle windows are each of three cinque-foiled lights set beneath elaborate geometric tracery, with a moulded cill course and low plinth. Above the aisle the nave clerestory has 16 octofoils set in the arcade on this side of the church. Attached to the east end of the north aisle is a two-storey addition of 1925 containing a vestry and organ loft under a flat roof. This has a pointed arched entrance and three square-headed windows to the ground floor, and a pointed arched window and lancet window to the loft. The east wall of this extension contains a pointed three-light window with intersecting tracery.

The west elevation of the nave has three huge buttresses beneath two pointed arched windows and a small lancet window in the gable. The windows are of two lights with geometric tracery. There are engaged columns to the kneelers of the gable coping. The west wall of the north aisle has a pointed window of four cusped lights below three quatrefoils to the tracery.

The south entrance porch leads into the entrance vestibule, which has a polychromatic clay-tiled floor, and then through a further doorway into the west end of the south aisle where there are stained-glass windows by Mayer of Munich that portray the life of Christ. The aisles are separated from the nave by four pointed arches resting on octagonal piers with moulded capitals and bases. The nave has clerestory arcades formed of cusped arches on engaged columns. It is covered by an open timber-trussed and arch-braced roof supported on stone corbels decorated with foliate carving. The original clay-tiled floor is now concealed beneath carpet tiles. A brass cross added in 1972 is fixed against the west wall of the nave beneath stained-glass windows by Mayer depicting the Last Supper and the Crucifixion. The original font, almost certainly by Woodyer, is situated at this end of the church. It comprises an octagonal bowl carved with pointed arches, the Cross, the Sacred Monogram and quatrefoils, which rests on an octagonal stem enriched with engaged marble columns, an octagonal base and a plinth. The north aisle contains wooden pews and the original wooden pulpit which bears similarities to the font. It has a stem carved with engaged columns which support elaborately carved panels bearing ogee arches, cusping and quatrefoils. The stained-glass to the north aisle depicts the Crucifixion, Last Supper and Good Shepherd. There are iron railings separating the altar as well as further decorative ironwork to the arched arcade openings with the adjacent vestry.

A large chamfered pointed arch separates the nave from the chancel. It has no capitals but an inner order ending in a concave curve, a characteristic Woodyer quirk. A stone step leads up into the chancel, which has a metal altar rail, high altar, wooden sedilia and panelling. The 1934 high altar design by Charles Nicholson is an elaborate gilded openwork front decorated with a pattern of vine leaves and grapes and set against a rich red background. It is flanked by tall Renaissance candle holders. Behind the altar is a reredos triptych, thought to date to the 19th century, which has lost its oak frame. It comprises a central gilded and painted panel showing Christ on the cross, flanked by Mary and St John the Baptist, and side panels of two figures of saints. Above the triptych is the east window by Mayer depicting Christ the Consoler. The chancel roof is of painted wood imitating rib vaulting. Flanking the chancel to the north are the vestries and organ loft. The latter contains a later 19th century pipe organ by Hunter and Son originally installed in the Lady Chapel but moved to its current location in 1954. The south Lady Chapel has a small sanctuary entered through a pointed arch where there is an altar and stained-glass by Archibald Nicholson, including a depiction of the risen Christ.

A quarry-faced squared stone boundary wall encloses the small churchyard immediately south of the church. It has a moulded stone coping and square stone piers surmounted by gables carved with trefoil decoration.

The wooden welcome desk and drinks servery, and the heating and audio-visual equipment added in around 2021 are not of special architectural or historic interest.