Church Of St Joseph (Roman Catholic)

Church of St Joseph (Roman Catholic)

A Roman Catholic church built between 1958 and 1960, designed by Francis Johnson and commissioned by Monsignor Lynn and Father Lovelady. The building is constructed of brown handmade bricks with Robin Hood stone dressings and sculpture in Doulting stone, beneath a pantiled roof.

The church follows a long, narrow plan consisting of a nave with organ loft and chancel, flanked by chapels dedicated to Our Lady and the English Martyrs, together with vestries. The most distinctive feature is the high west end, which projects prominently with staircase towers on either side. These towers are square in plan with square windows in their returns, niches containing statuary, and are topped by obelisks. A central bellcote rises above a tall cross positioned over a round west window. Below this sits a Calvary group. The west elevation is dominated by a blind arcaded screen pierced by double doors under a segmental arch at its centre. Square windows are repeated along the side elevations, where the nave is lit by large three-light windows beneath arched heads, featuring brick mullions and transoms.

The interior is rendered throughout. The small sanctuary contains a reredos of riven Cumberland slate and gold quartzite set with Calvary figures carved by Esmond Burton. The stone altar stands on steps, its mensa (top) formed from a single piece of Derbyshire fossil marble, ten feet long, supported on Park Lane piers. The sanctuary floor is tiled with English marbles and is raised behind curved iron altar rails incorporating motifs of the Cross, crossed palm leaves, and passion flowers, all made by Wilfred Dowson. The side chapels are designed in similar style with delicate altarpieces. The Lady Chapel is contemporary with the main building and incorporates gates from the main altar rail, while the other chapel was added in 1970. Windows throughout contain handmade glass, some tinted. Contemporary pendant lights were also designed by Dowson, with later shades added. The church contains an organ, Stations of the Cross, and gates to a former baptistry, now serving as a chapel of remembrance added in 1993. All interior fittings were designed by Johnson.

The baroque west front represents the building's most distinctive aspect, functioning as a true westwork in the manner developed in central Europe. Johnson's design draws significantly from the influence of Enrico Del Debbio, whose work from the 1920s reinterpreted Baroque architecture in modern terms and which Johnson would have encountered during a visit to Italy in 1931. Johnson was also an admirer of P V Jensen Klint's Grundtvigs Church in Copenhagen, whose dramatic westwork he saw in 1934. The interior demonstrates careful preservation of Johnson's fittings throughout, creating an immaculately designed and delicate architectural ensemble within a well-proportioned, high space noted for its excellent acoustics.

Francis Johnson (1911-95) was a prominent local architect who later specialised in country houses, particularly in Yorkshire, and became a leading figure in the classical revival of the late 1980s. In his earlier career, particularly during the 1950s, he designed several churches in the Scarborough area. St Joseph's represents Johnson's largest new church and one of his most original designs, demonstrating an interest in continental sources from the 1920s not clearly evident in his subsequent country house work. The contractor was Sinclair of Scarborough, who worked on several of Johnson's commissions, with joinery executed by craftsmen experienced in meeting Johnson's exacting standards.