Christ Church

JULIAN ROAD 656-1/0/0 (North side) Christ Church 12/06/50

GV II

Church. 1795-1798 with later alterations. By John Palmer. MATERIALS: Limestone ashlar, rubblestone to north side, double Roman tile and slate roofs. Leaded windows. PLAN: Rectangular five-bay plan with projecting west tower and flanking porches. EXTERIOR: Gothick. East end has nine-sided semicircular apse with ornamental bracketed eaves cornice, continuous impost string course to pointed arched recesses over shallow pointed arched stained glass windows with star shaped recesses above, and moulded sill string course. Main block encircled by parapet with moulded coping and one merlon with shield to centre of each bay flanked by diagonal crocketed finials to off-set buttresses. Cornice below parapet has dynamic carved animals over buttresses. Clasping buttresses to corners support corbelled crenellated octagonal turrets. Tall three-light windows to galleries (two to right are stained glass) above aisles have interlaced tracery and label moulds that extend to buttresses. Lower three-light ground floor windows have label moulds to flat arches, three to left have elaborate carved panels of shields in quatrefoils flanking panels of cusped diagonal crosses below to lights, to inside-right shallow gabled porch with steps up to double planked doors under moulded pointed arch and hoodmould. West tower in four stages with shallow clasping pilasters up to coved cornice below a crenellated parapet that has crosses on simple obelisk finials, continuous hoodmoulds over two-light louvered openings and string course below sills. Third stage has clock to south side and recessed quatrefoil panels to other facets. Second stage has impost string, level with those of nave, over tall two-light pointed-arched windows (blind to west front). Steps up to planked double doors below are set into slightly projecting coped gabled porch with panelled intrados to pointed arch. Flanking arch are elaborate scrolled brackets to octagonal lamps and two-bay single storey porches with lean-to slate roofs and pierced cusped triangles to parapet and buttresses without finials to sides and centre. Steps up to pointed arched doors under flat-arched hoodmoulds with foliate spandrels flanking tower and to returns have small windows between. Upper windows flanking tower to west end of nave have more elaborate tracery. North side similar but simpler. INTERIOR: Not inspected. Built to provide free places for poor of Bath, 800 on ground floor, while seats in galleries were let to provide income for church. Consecrated 7th November 1798. Galleries lowered in 1844, restored and western porches added by Thomas Fuller in 1855, apse added in 1866, opened 21st June 1866, parapet rebuilt by Wallace Gill c1904. SOURCES:(Jackson N: Nineteenth Century Bath - Architects and Architecture: Bath: 1991-: 123; Ison W: The Georgian Buildings of Bath: Bath: 1980-: 63).

Listing NGR: ST7488065462