Church Of St Swithin

The Church of St Swithin is a parish church constructed between 1779 and 1790, designed by John Palmer. The church is built of limestone ashlar with hipped slate and lead roofs. It features a rectangular six-bay plan with an aisled design and a west entrance tower.

The exterior is distinguished by a coped parapet, cornice, and frieze that run around the entire building and tower. The east end is elevated, standing on a rusticated plinth above the west side of London Street. The sanctuary has a shallow, canted bay with paired Tuscan pilasters and a semicircular arched stained-glass window crowned by a pediment. The bays are articulated by a giant order of Ionic pilasters which interrupt a platband and frame tall, semicircular arched six/six-pane sash windows, as well as smaller, segmental arched three/three-pane sash windows situated above the plinth.

The tower rises in three stages, topped by a slender octagonal spire with a wrought iron finial and a gold ball. The spire sits upon a cylindrical drum with a dentil cornice. The drum has eight engaged Corinthian columns set within recessed panels above semicircular arched openings. The square second stage has stepped forward panels on each side. The parapet, modillion cornice, and frieze are supported by Corinthian columns flanking semicircular arched, louvered openings with moulded archivolts in panels and clasping Corinthian pilasters to quoins. A clock is visible in a louvered opening on the left return. Below the columns, stepped forward panels sweep out to meet at quoins and form a corniced plinth to the second stage. The main cornice encircles the building and continues around the lower stage of the tower, leading to a front pediment featuring fluted consoles with paterae to the frieze. This pediment frames a circular clock, a horizontal rectangular panel, and a Doric pedimented doorcase with engaged columns and a keystone over a semicircular archway, leading to a three-panel double door with pointed-arched panels at the top. Level with the clock, returns feature circular windows with radial glazing bars. Single-storey wings flank the tower, with curved corners, a moulded string course continuing as a platband, and subsequently sweeping up to meet the cornice of the doorcase. Six/six-pane sash windows are set within moulded segmental architraves, and lead rainwater heads serve downpipes from the parapet. These wings house vestries and stairs leading to galleries, with a facade visually echoing the returns’ design, including upper sections of Corinthian pilasters and windows.

The interior has not been inspected but is reported to retain original features, including a memorial tablet commemorating the architect, John Palmer. The church’s initial four bays were constructed between 1777 and 1780, with two further bays added between 1788 and 1790, and the tower and spire completed by 1790.