Church of St Alban the Martyr

Church of St Alban the Martyr

A garrison church completed in 1937, designed by William A Ross ARIBA, chief architect to the War Office. The church was re-dedicated as the regimental church of the Royal Artillery in 2011.

The building is constructed of red brick, with shaped brick forming mouldings at the windows, entrances and for decoration. It has a very shallow pitched copper roof.

The church is rectangular on plan, comprising a seven-bay passage-aisled nave, an apsidal chancel, sanctuary, north and south porches at the eastern end, a south-west tower, and a north-west baptistry.

The exterior is characterised by tall, narrow pointed-arch lancets with small-pane glazing in a Swedish-influenced style. The west elevation features a full-height two-stage portico reflecting the shape of the gable end and enclosing a window at upper level. The lower level projects forward with two-leaf panelled doors and a stone cross apex terminal. The passage-aisles are flat-roofed and stand forward from the nave, each bay containing a lancet window. Entrances are positioned to the east. The corresponding nave bays have taller lancets under shallow arches separated by buttresses. The south elevation displays two lancets and a set-back rectangular belfry with three louvred rectangular openings and an openwork clock on the west elevation. The north elevation contains a rectangular flat-roofed vestry at its east end and a chapel at its west end. The chancel is narrower than the nave with three grouped lancets to the north and south. At the east end is a polygonal flat-roofed windowless sanctuary, its angles marked with crossed bricks and a stone cross on the roof. A datestone above the sanctuary plinth records: "TO THE GLORY OF GOD / THIS STONE WAS LAID BY / GENERAL / SIR JOHN T. BURNETT STUART. K.C.B., / K.B.E., C.M.G., D.S.O., / GENERAL OFFICER COMMANDING-IN-CHIEF / SOUTHERN COMMAND / 22ND JANUARY 1937". Lead rainwater heads and pipes are featured throughout.

The interior retains exposed brick with mouldings reflecting the exterior. Each nave bay has a pilaster strip with brick corbels supporting shallow pitched exposed timber rafters carrying purlins. Opposing north and south double doors are located at the chancel end of the nave. At the north-west end is a chapel with double doors. The aisle bays are spanned by shallow-pointed arches. The chancel has a plain plastered roof with a shallow-pointed arch chancel arch and a floor laid in quarry tiles. Set within the north wall of the chancel under a pointed arch is an organ by Daniel of Clevedon. The sanctuary, polygonal externally, forms internally a plain shallow round-arched plastered niche with a plain timber cross and a carved timber altar decorated with statuary. The panelled oak pews, stalls, organ case, pulpit and lectern are original. The rear pews have decoration and are probably reused from elsewhere. At the south-west corner of the nave stands a polygonal stone-stemmed font with an oak lid, its bowl featuring arrow-head enrichment to alternating facets. At the west end of the south aisle is a steel spiral stair serving the bell tower. The panelled oak doors throughout the church have brass Art Deco style furniture.

The stained glass windows, plaques and all items moved to the church after 2006, together with all modern fixtures and fittings including the new kitchen and bathroom, are excluded from the designation as they are not of special architectural or historic interest.