Roman Catholic Church of St Mary

Roman Catholic Church of St Mary

A Roman Catholic church designed by Charles Alban Buckler and built between 1863 and 1865 in the Decorated Gothic style. The church was built under the patronage of Charles J Eyston.

The building has a brick core faced in Boxhill stone with a plain tile roof. The plan comprises a nave with a north aisle, a chancel with a lower ridge than the nave, and a south transept. A projecting porch is positioned at the centre of the south flank of the nave, and an octagonal bell turret stands in the angle between the transept and nave. A two-storey caretaker's cottage is attached to the north-west corner of the building.

The exterior is skirted by a projecting plinth, with bays divided by buttresses with offsets. All gable ends are finished with a carved cross finial. The south flank of the nave features a corbel table to the upper wall and a central gabled porch with a chamfered arch to the central portal and angled buttresses. A recessed panel in the upper gable, surrounded by a trefoil, contains a central shield bearing the initials 'MR' (Maria Regina) surrounded by carved lilies in relief. On either side are similar traceried windows of three lights with cusped heads and trefoils to the apex. The bell tower to the right has three stages with offsets between each level. Openings at ground and belfry levels have cusped heads, and the tower is topped with a stone spire and finial. The north flank of the nave has two aisle windows, each of two lights with quatrefoils to the head, and a doorway with an arched head to the right. The west window is a five-light window with a traceried head showing trefoils and cinquefoils flanked by mouchettes, with a northern aisle window to its left of two lights and trefoil head. The north flank of the nave aisle has a doorway to the western bay and two two-light windows to the bays at left.

The chancel has a lower ridge than the nave and is partially obscured on the southern side by the transept and by extensions to the vestry and a corridor leading to a bridge. The windows on both flanks are of two lights with a cinquefoil to the apex. The east window has three lights with an elaborately cusped rose to the apex.

The two-storey cottage attached to the north-west corner of the church was apparently originally intended for the caretaker. It was extended further west after 1970. The original structure has lancet windows with cusped heads to its south and east sides, while the extension is marked by windows with flat heads.

The interior of the nave is divided into three bays with a north aisle, the latter having an altar to the Sacred Heart at its eastern end. The aisle piers have a quatrefoil section with chamfered arches. The panelled roof has wall posts below the trusses, supported by stone brackets painted with coats of arms. The flooring comprises stone flags with encaustic tiles and wooden staging to the chancel.

The stone carving throughout the church is of quality, much of it executed by Boulton of Worcester. The chancel contains a reredos with carved repeating patterns in front of which stands the altar, remodelled in 1983. A timber rood screen with three arches and traceried heads divides the nave from the chancel. The chancel arch is flanked to the north by a canopied niche enclosing a statue of the Virgin and Child, and to the south by a stone pulpit with panels showing scenes of Christ preaching.

The altar of the Sacred Heart features a carved representation of a heart bound by a trailing thorny branch set in a sunken hexafoil panel and is flanked by statues of Christ and Joseph of Nazareth. The font, originally positioned in the south-western corner, has been moved to stand in front of the altar of the Sacred Heart. It comprises an octagonal shaft with marble columns to the base and an octagonal bowl with carved panels of foliage. At the rear of the church is a fixed timber bench with a wooden canopy, apparently originally a family pew for the Eystons.

The east, south and north-east windows of the sanctuary are by Hardman and date to 1864, as is the south-east nave window of 1879.