Church Of St Patrick

The Church of St Patrick, in Corsham Pickwick, is a Roman Catholic church and attached house, originally built as schools in 1857-8 by H.E. and A.S. Goodridge of Bath. It is constructed of rubble stone with ashlar dressings, in a Gothic style.

The building has a complex “Z” plan, incorporating an additional range in the rear south-east angle, and a projecting gabled porch between the north gable and east wing. The main north-south range has wings extending to the north-east and south-west, with all gables featuring stepped buttresses and a stepped sill course under plate-traceried windows. The windows have stepped cusped heads to their lights; 4-light windows are present in the main north and east gables, while 3-light windows are found in the south and west gables. Cusped trefoils decorate the apex of each gable. Corner stacks are visible on the north and south gables, and the north gable has a steep ashlar bellcote. The porch features a segmental-pointed doorway, a ribbon scroll above, and a statue niche in the apex.

The north front of the east wing incorporates a 3-light window extending into a dormer gable, with a smaller 2-light window to the left. The west side echoes this design with a similar 3-light window and dormer gable, accompanied by a 2-light window to the left and a 3-light window to the right. The south side shows a 2-light window to the left of the main gable.

A rear range, located in the south-east angle, has an east end stack and two dormer gables, each with a 2-light pointed window breaking the eaves. A door is positioned on either side, with a ribbon scroll reading "Girls School" to the left and "Boys School" to the right. A projection between these doors, originally with a stepped gable, was extended in 1985 to obscure the right-side door. The interior features complex triple-purlin roofs and an inserted floor in the main north-south range.

The attached house to the east has a stone-tiled roof and a cross-wing adjoining the school, with a coped east gable. The north front features an ashlar canted porch set at an angle to the school, alongside gables with 2-light windows on each floor, with pointed heads above and shouldered bases, partially infilled with ashlar to line with the stair. A large external stack is positioned to the left, dated 1858, and incorporates a 3-light shouldered-head window in its base. The south side of the cross-wing has a half-hipped gable, a cusped 3-light upper window, and a triangular ashlar bay with a 2-light mullion-and-transom window on each face. A wing to the right has a single-light window breaking the eaves, and a lean-to to the east end wall with a 2-light window.

Originally Pickwick District Schools, the design was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1857 and was commissioned by Sir G. Goldney M.P.