Roman Catholic Church Of The Annunciation

The Roman Catholic Church of the Annunciation, built between 1905 and 1906, is the first executed church by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott. In 1965, a Lady Chapel was added, and the west end of the nave was extended by one bay. The church features a striking contrast between the tall chancel and even taller transepts, set against a low nave. It is designed in a Geometrical Gothic style, constructed from red brick with stone bands and dressings, with thin bricks arranged in five courses of stretchers to two of headers. The nave roof is concealed behind a flat parapet and shallow gable, with three light Geometrical windows on the sides. The soaring west wall of the crossing includes two Geometrical windows and a prominently modeled buttressed bellcote, while very tall upper pairs of two-light windows are located at the ends of the transepts. The east wall is windowless and features two large buttresses with multiple set-offs.

Inside, the nave is a single-storey space with three-bay arcades that frame arched recesses instead of aisles, with narrow passages that penetrate the piers and simple chamfers without capitals. The west arch of the crossing is low, while the east arch is notably high. The chancel has three storeys, with blank plaster walls at the lower level, a triforium gallery featuring elegantly molded pairs of arches (without capitals) on each side, and a decorative wrought-iron balcony that connects them above the altar. Each side of the chancel has a clerestory with three tiny flat-topped two-light windows. The triforium continues as an open gallery over the low north and south crossing arches, and the piers are accented with bands of pink stone. The original High Altar is very shallow, supported on brackets and a central colonette, with a recent freestanding altar placed in front. The altar rail is made of striped slate-grey and white stone on curved steps. A modern west gallery includes a toplit baptistery further to the west.