Roman Catholic Church Of St Edward The Confessor, Sanday

William Frame, 1885-89. Sculptor, Thos. Nicholls. Neo-Romanesque church orientated to east. Rectangular with elongated semi-circular apse at east gable, 3-storey tower at SW and projecting gabled porch at NW. All dark grey bull-faced sneck coursed rubble with contrasting tooled sandstone dressings. 4-bay flanks with small round-headed windows linked by moulded string course to 5 similar windows lighting apse; similar triple lancets in west gable, with wheel window above. Shallow angle buttresses at west. Deep porch masks round-headed entrance with moulded door piece, paired nook shafts flanking door, each shaft with either waterleaf or scalloped capitals, and small incised Greek dedication crosses flanking entrance. Double leaf plank door with long cast-iron hinges.

Rectangular 3-storey tower with round-headed entrance in east elevation serving sacristy. 2 small lancets, one above the other, in west and south elevations. 1st floor with blind round-headed arches infilled with contrasting dark rubble, some in herring-bone pattern. 2nd and 3rd storeys with louvred openings to all elevations, in east and west with single centre columns and in north and south with paired columns, all with either cushion or waterleaf capitals. Slated gabled roof with centre ridge finial with cast-iron cross and decorative red pottery ridge. Slated roofs to remainder of church, also with red pottery ridge; gable apex cross finials.

Interior: apse framed by round-headed arch with 2 orders of moulding, the inner a simple roll and hollow and the outer with chevron pattern; paired engaged columns flank entrance with either crocketted or waterleaf capitals. Shallow steps lead to apse with coloured tiled floor. Round-headed entrance with flanking piscina; smaller round-

headed doorway to sacristy under open balustraded balcony within tower. Round-headed arch frames balcony, supported by paired pilasters with similar capitals as elsewhere. Wallhead decorated by plain bandcourse with regularly spaced carved stone heads, 5 each side, of knights, priests, youths etc. Altar and square font survive; otherwise empty.