Church Of Our Lady Of Consolation And St Francis

Church of Our Lady of Consolation and St Francis, West Grinstead

A Roman Catholic church of considerable architectural and historical significance. The nave and aisles were built in 1876 to designs by architect John Crawley in Early Decorated style. In 1896, the aisles were raised and the sanctuary, transept chapels and a bell turret were added by F A Walters in matching style. The lower part of the tower dates from the early 20th century, but the upper part and short spire were completed in 1964 by the firm of Riley and Glanfield as a memorial to Hilaire Belloc.

The building is constructed in flint with ashlar dressings and a slate roof. It comprises a six-bay nave with north and south aisles, a three-bay sanctuary with transept chapels, and a south-west tower with a squat spire.

The west end displays a large traceried window with trefoil lights above it. Below is an ogee-arched former doorcase that was converted into a window in the late 20th century. The south-west tower has three stages and is battered towards its base, with four pinnacles topped with pyramidal roofs, tall buttresses and a squat stone spire. The top bell stage features triple round-headed louvred openings and an arched opening with double plank doors retaining original ironmongery. The nave has a clerestory of trefoil-headed lancets divided by buttresses. The aisles contain arched windows with trefoil-headed double lancets and mouchettes or quatrefoil lights above. The lower part of the north aisle is obscured by a link building to the adjoining Priest's House. The sanctuary is lower in profile, with one arched window containing double lancets and trefoil and quatrefoil lights, and a further window in brick lean-to transepts. The east window is positioned high on the wall to accommodate the tall internal reredos, and consists of an arched window with trefoil-headed lights and intersecting tracery. The church is connected to the adjoining Priest's House by a single-storey link block built in flint with stone dressings and slate roof featuring terracotta ridge tiles.

Internally, the six-bay nave features an arched arcade supported on octagonal stone columns with a stone rib-vaulted roof. Above the columns are carved stone angels bearing the arms of benefactors of the church and shrine, superintended by architect Edward Hanson. These include the arms of Pope Leo XIII, Bishop James Danell, the 15th Duke of Norfolk and his wife, the 3rd Order Dominicans, Duchess Flora, the Caryll family, the Mostyn family and the Carthusian Order. A wooden gallery stands at the west end with original pews. The aisles contain stained glass including depictions of St Nicholas and the pickled boys attributed to Hardman; St John and St Francis, and St Dominic and the Blessed Virgin Mary attributed to Jones and Willis; and a French-made Annunciation window. The north aisle has a wall plaque to Jean Marie Denis, Parish Priest from 1863 to 1900, and an ogee-shaped wall monument to his sister. To the north-west of the chancel arch stands a gabled stone canopy with pinnacles supported on marble columns, containing a late 19th-century painting of the Northern Italian School depicting the Virgin and Child, loosely based on the original "Bella de consolata" painting in Turin. This shrine was present in the 1870s before the sanctuary was built. The original communion rails, though not in their original position, are extant. The sanctuary comprises three bays also with ribbed vaulting, and features an elaborate stone and plaster French reredos depicting various scenes from the life of Our Lady, topped with four statues of saints associated with the mission: St Bruno, St Thomas, St Aloysius and St Francis of Assisi. At its centre is a statue of Our Lady of Consolation which functions as a shrine. A pointed arched piscina and aumbry are present. The east window stained glass depicts Richard of Chichester, St George, St Bruno and St Dominic, with Our Lady and the Child Jesus in the apex, and is attributed to the firm of Lavers, Barraud and Westlake.

West Grinstead holds particular significance as a Catholic site. Before the Reformation, it was established as a shrine honouring Our Lady, and the Caryll family maintained Catholic worship following the Reformation. A document of 1580 records that the minister of Shipley, John Wassher, made surprise visits to Benton's Place in Shipley, a Caryll family property, searching for Fathers Hampton and Stratford. The adjoining Priest's House, listed Grade II*, contains an attic room used as a chapel, probably since 1630. This building was endowed as a presbytery in 1671, which may make it the oldest continuously occupied Catholic presbytery in England.

Following the Penal times, a Frenchman, Father Jean-Marie Denis, was appointed parish priest. The Bishop of Southwark asked him to erect "a miniature French cathedral". Funds were raised locally and from France, Belgium and Holland. The church was designed by John Crawley in Early Decorated style, with the foundation stone laid on 29th May 1875 and the church opened on 27th June 1876. Initially only the nave and aisles were constructed; the transepts, nuns' choir, tower and spire of the original design were not realised. The aisles were raised and the sanctuary, flanking chapels and bell turret were added in 1896 by F A Walters. The tower may have been begun in the early 20th century, but the upper part including the short spire was built in 1964 to designs by Riley and Glanfield in memory of Hilaire Belloc, who died in 1953 and is buried in the churchyard.