Church of St Francis of Assisi, west entrance steps, hall and attached vicarage

This Anglican church complex was designed by J Harold Gibbons in a Romanesque style and built in 1929-30, with early 21st-century alterations. The church hall dates from 1933 and the attached former curates' house and vicarage from 1939.

Materials

The church is constructed of brick, Purbeck stone and shuttered concrete with a rendered finish under plain tile roofs. The church hall is faced with Purbeck stone with stucco detailing under a hipped, tiled roof. The vicarage and attached curates' house have rendered walls, probably over brick, under a hipped, tiled roof with tall chimneys.

Plan

The complex has a roughly U-shaped plan comprising the church aligned west to east; a detached church hall to the south-west (originally intended to be linked to the church by a covered walkway); and to the south-east the attached former curates' accommodation and vicarage. The church includes a campanile, a nave with a gallery at its west end, and a sanctuary under a single roof, a Lady Chapel to the north and a south porch. At the south-east corner are a vestry and a sacristy.

Church Exterior

The three-stage campanile has a pyramidal roof. The only ground-floor window is an oculus to the west side, above which is a statue of St Francis of Assisi by A G Walker standing on a corbel with a decorated canopy over. The second stage has a pair of taking-in doors with an iron balustrade to the north elevation, and a two-light mullioned window with leaded lights to the east side, alongside the attached staircase to the first floor. A second integral staircase at the south-west corner leads to the belfry; both staircases are lit by small single lights. Each side of the belfry has two semi-circular openings with a circular shaft and square capital between.

The west end of the nave has round-arched windows to the ground floor, a large rose window above which is modelled on a similar window in the Basilica of St Francis in Assisi, and louvered openings in the gable apex. To the south return, approached by shallow steps laid with pebbles, is one of the entrances into the church. The panelled doors have a recessed surround with a chamfered hoodmould and a single label stop carved in the form of a squirrel. There is a large eared keystone above the doors. At first floor is a single-light window and to the right return a mullioned window, both with chamfered jambs and decorative leaded lights. At the junction between the two is a carving of a squirrel among oak leaves and acorns.

The south side of the nave is lit only by clerestory windows: three arched ones to the left of the porch, six rectangular ones arranged in pairs, and two further arched windows to the right. At eaves level, above the porch, is a narrow strip of lead decorated with floral motifs. There is also a dove (the sign mark of Dove Brothers), a gibbon (the rebus of the architect), and 1930 (the date of consecration). The west wall of the porch has a doorway (blocked internally), to the left of which are seven corbels originally intended to support the roof of a proposed walkway between the church and the adjacent hall, though this was never built. Above the entrance doors within the porch is a tympanum carved with birds, probably swallows, flowers and leaves; the capitals are carved doves. To the right of the porch is the single-storey vestry with mullioned windows and a single light, all with leaded lights.

The right return is formed by the sacristy and a basement level. The ground floor has an off-centre doorway, flanked by windows with wooden shutters, and a third opening to the right. To the first floor are two two-light windows in a loose Arts and Crafts style with chunky, tapering mullions and a semi-circular fanlight; between them is a five-light flat-headed window with matching mullions, and to the right is a similar window of two lights. All have leaded glazing. The south wall of the sanctuary (Blessed Sacrament Chapel) has a tall, single window and a pair of small lights beneath; to the ground floor is a shouldered opening that provides vehicle access to the former missionaries' house beyond. The opposing elevation has three shorter single windows. The east end of the Lady Chapel has a pair of single lights to the ground floor, an oculus above, and to the right is a semi-circular apse. The north elevation has single and two-light mullioned windows with ashlar surrounds and square heads. The west end of the chapel has a single door to the ground floor and a round-arched window above. The north side of the nave has four arched clerestory windows.

Church Interior

The interior, which is unpainted throughout, is undergoing some re-ordering and refurbishment (2013), including a new floor and heating system. There are also proposals to relocate the font to the front of the church and to install a lavatory at the west end. The nave has narrow passage aisles formed by single arches or buttresses rising as curves from floor level. The Stations of the Cross date from 1961 and replaced the original ones which were sent to British Honduras. The lanterns are gilded and painted, as are the shades to the wall lights, some of which are painted with angels, others with letters which serve as memorials to former parishioners. The nave roof is barrel vaulted and boarded.

The deep choir gallery to the west end is carried on massive piers which rise up to the roof. The gallery front has inset panels and there are shouldered openings to its side walls; that to the right providing access to the campanile. The gallery stairs are situated at the south-west corner and the baptistery in the north-west corner, a combination that is a signature feature of Gibbons' designs. The ceiling beneath the gallery has square panels with moulded ribs. There are three round-headed arches in the west wall. The central one serves as an entrance hall and the right-hand one is the baptistery. They both have groyne-vaulted ceilings. The circa 1800 organ which was installed in 1964 from a church near Slough was not successful because of its poor position and has recently (2013) been removed.

The Lady Chapel, under a panelled gambrel roof, has an apsidal east end, a wall-mounted ceramic piscina and wooden communion rails. The altar is a replacement and the original timber one has been moved to the vestry. Between the Lady Chapel and the sanctuary is a confessional.

The chancel is a continuation of the nave, situated in the position of the crossing. It has a barrel-vaulted roof; its boards are painted blue and the mouldings in green. At either end of the chancel roof are plaques of gilded angels holding a shield of Arma Christi. The high altar is made of Hoptonwood stone with a Purbeck table top and a Siena marble front and stands under a baldacchino or ciborium which is flanked by low walls. Either side of the sanctuary arch are statues of the Virgin Mary, carved in the Tyrol, and St Francis of Assisi, by A G Walker; their canopies were designed by Gibbons. The east wall of the sanctuary has a shallow round-arched recess containing a painted depiction of the Crucifixion by Nina Somerset. The altar is approached by six shallow steps. The sanctuary lamps, created from a silver tea service, are carried on decorative brackets. The roof timbers rest on corbels and there are painted ceiling panels of blue with orange sun motifs; the rib mouldings are painted red.

The sacristy and vestry are located to the south-east corner, connected to the church by a passage. The sacristy has a tiled floor and a stone sink with a splashback of glazed, coloured tiles and a stone shelf above.

Principal Fittings

The massive wooden baldacchino stands on four foliate-carved columns on fluted bases. It has four round-headed arches with reliefs of censing to the spandrels. An original plan indicates that it was intended to be painted but has only an undercoat of paint. The font is Norman, said to have been recovered from Wales by the architect. It has a circular bowl, lined with copper, and a moulded circular stem.

Church Hall Exterior

This is a detached building to the south of the west end of the church which is rectangular in plan with side aisles that mark the position of the central hall. The windows are a mix of single- and two-light timber windows with leaded lights. The east elevation has a shouldered doorway and at its northern end is a lower, flat-roofed projection that has a further doorway. The north elevation has a round-arched entrance approached by steps and single-light windows. The windows to the west return match those to the east elevation. The south elevation has a tall, shouldered first-floor window and single lights below.

Church Hall Interior

The hall has a vestibule, former dressing rooms and a kitchen at its north end, a large hall, and lavatories beyond; there are also several first-floor rooms to the south end. The central hall has a Jarrah blockwork floor and a large stage at its northern end, its proscenium arch reflecting the shape of the principal, collared roof trusses which rise from strip pilasters. The building also retains most of its mid-20th-century door furniture.

Former Curates' House and Vicarage Exterior

This building is in the Arts and Crafts style, of two storeys to the front (west) and two storeys and a basement to the rear. The two left-hand bays were originally the curates' house (now offices, 2013), and the rest of the building which breaks forwards is the former vicarage. The windows throughout are timber casements with leaded lights. The west front of the vicarage is symmetrical with a central entrance flanked by small arch-headed windows, all set within an applied, round-headed arcade surround of stucco with attached columns to either side of the door. The entrance is in turn flanked by a flat-headed single window and a three-light window. To the first floor are three-light windows to the outer bays and a central window of four lights above the entrance. The curates' house to the left has an entrance with stone surround to the left bay and a three-light window to the right. To the first floor are two matching windows. The south and east elevations are plainer, and have timber casements, some with stucco architrave.

Former Curates' House and Vicarage Interior

The curates' house, which has access through to the vestry and sacristy as well as the church, has a single room to the ground floor and two former bedrooms and a bathroom at first floor. Fittings include mid-20th-century timber doors, picture rails, skirting boards and two safes. The vicarage was not inspected internally (2013).

Subsidiary Features

On the north side of the church is a cloister or walkway which links the former missionary house (Alverna House) of 1964 with the church. It takes the form of an arcaded walkway with round-headed arches carried on piers with square moulded capitals and contributes to the special interest of the church complex. Alverna House itself is much altered and was converted to a hostel in the 1990s. The zigzag steps which form the western entrance to the church complex have plain random stone rubble walls and are architecturally modest, as is the shallow flight of concrete steps between the church and the church hall. These three structures are excluded from the listing.