Church Of St Saviour

Church of St Saviour

This church was built between 1890 and 1913 by architects Somers Clarke and J T Micklethwaite. It replaced a mission that had operated from a converted baker's shop in Sydney Street since 1880, when the Sisters of the Community of St John the Baptist at Clewer, Berkshire, became involved in the project. The site, which had previously been a market garden, was given by Lord Radnor. Groundwork began in November 1889 under contractor William Dunk of Folkestone, and the foundation stone was laid on 12 May 1891. The church was consecrated on 25 July 1900, though construction continued until 1913. The total cost was £12,947, including £1,648 for terracotta work.

The exterior presents a striking visual contrast through its materials: Kentish ragstone with red brick dressings and Doulton terracotta used for the windows and pinnacles. Red clay tile roofs complete the covering. The most distinctive external feature is the two-tier, triple bellcote with a wavy outline, which replaced an originally planned western tower. The aisles are lean-tos with embattled parapets and buttresses demarcating the bays, terminating in small pinnacles with ogee terracotta cappings. The aisle windows are three-light Perpendicular style with intricate tracery, as is the five-light east window of the chancel, which projects one bay beyond the aisles. There is no clerestory.

The plan comprises a nave, chancel, north and south aisles, a north vestibule in the angle of the north aisle and nave, a south porch, and a north vestry and sacristy. The two western bays were divided off from the worship area during later alterations.

Internally, the building features broad aisles of seven bays flanking the nave and chancel but stopping one bay short of the east end. The arcades consist of lozenge-shaped piers which run without capitals into the arches, with shafts rising from the valleys to the springing of the roof, which is keel-shaped. The interior walls were originally bare red brick but were distempered under a scheme devised in 1939; the roof was whitened at the same time. The plain interior is typical of late Victorian churches. The font is a fine octagonal piece made of Frosterley-type marble, with a straight-sided bowl and a base with fluted sides. A hanging rood marks the start of the chancel area. The church was seated with chairs from the start and retains modern chairs. Stained glass occupies the east end, whilst clear-glazed windows feature attractively-leaded roundels of stylised flowers. A First World War memorial stands west of the south aisle, comprising three steps, a weather-beaten shaft, and a Crucifixion at the head.

The original plans for the church had envisaged a large western tower and facing of flint, both of which were abandoned for reasons of expense. A further unrealised intention was to plaster the brick interior walls and decorate them with sgraffito. The choir vestry was added in 1907, and the south aisle and southeast porch were completed in 1913. An inscription in the southwest porch records that the church was commenced in 1890 and was built in memory of Mother Harriet (died 1883), the first mother superior of the Community of St John the Baptist.

Major alterations took place in the 1980s. In 1986 a new dais for a forward altar was built and the previous marble altar slab was sunk into the floor at the east end. The most significant change was the bricking off of the western bays to form a multi-purpose parish centre, a reordering and bricking completed in 1988 and executed by David Irwin of Kenneth Waite and Partners of Folkestone. The organ loft was completed in 1989. A reflooring with a wooden floor was installed around 2004.