Paxton Church, Paxton

Paxton Church, opened in 1908, is a symmetrical, T-shaped church built in a plain Gothic style. The building is set within a sandstone boundary wall, railings, gatepiers and gates.

The church’s front elevation features a gabled porch centred within a three-bay gabled nave. The front is constructed of squared and snecked cream sandstone, with ashlar dressings throughout. A boarded door sits within a chamfered surround, and is fitted with decorative hinges. Flanking the porch are single windows, with buttresses situated beneath coped, crenellated parapets. A plate-traceried window is centred above the porch, and a gabled belfry surmounts the gablehead, featuring a trefoil-headed opening and a cruciform finial.

The east and west elevations each have a projecting gable of the transept, with three large windows at ground level, the central window being taller. Recessed ranges flank the transepts, featuring shouldered-arched windows set within square-headed openings. A trefoil-headed window is set within a projecting porch recessed to the outer right. The rear north elevation showcases a projecting gable of the nave with a rose window centred above, and a piend-roofed vestry offset to the left.

The church’s windows are predominantly opaque-glazed with square-paned leadwork, incorporating stained detailing. Timber sash and case windows are found in the vestry. The roof is covered in grey slate with red tile ridging, stone-coped skews, and beak skewputts (curvilinear skewputts) to the porch. The remains of a ridge ventilator are visible.

Inside, a panelled door leads to the nave, which features boarded dado panelling, painted walls above, and a boarded timber floor. The ceiling is open with timber joists resting on moulded sandstone springers. The nave contains pews, a polygonal pulpit with linenfold carving and floral panels, a timber font, and a communion table. A panelled door provides access to the vestry, and two wall plaques are present.