Church Of The Immaculate Conception

The Church of the Immaculate Conception, built in 1907-8 to a cruciform plan with a prominent gable front, twin spires, and a polygonal chancel, was designed by Charles Menart. It is constructed of rock-faced squared snecked yellow sandstone rubble with droved margins and ashlar dressings. Large pointed arch windows feature stone panel tracery above the main entrance and to the transepts, alongside squat pointed arch clerestory windows and segmental-headed windows within round-trefoil surrounds. The church includes a fine interior decorative scheme. Later 20th-century presbytery buildings are situated to the north.

The southwest (entrance) elevation showcases a double entrance with timber-panelled doors, topped by cusped pointed-arch tympana with a continuous hoodmould within a panel of smooth ashlar and a stepped string course. A niche sits between the two doors. A large central pointed-arched window is distinguished by stepped splays and a bracketed hoodmould. A projecting skew is topped with a clover-leaf cross finial. The elevation features square-plan, two-stage corner towers, trefoil-headed windows rising to an octagonal plan with corner gablets and windows to the main elevations, short octagonal spires with tall lucarnes, and low single bays with tall gabled lancets abutting the towers.

The southeast elevation displays a single bay with a tall blind lancet panel, followed by a single-storey, pitch-roofed aisle with five small rectangular windows and a single door to the left. A three-bay clerestory is present. A large transept window is accompanied by a low, flat-roofed projection beneath it. A single-storey Lady Chapel features three bays of rectangular windows below a canted chancel window.

The northeast elevation reveals the chancel with mullioned Gothic windows to the canted bays, and two segmental-headed windows belonging to the Lady Chapel on the right. The northwest elevation mirrors the southeast elevation but includes a blank, two-storey end bay to the rear.

The interior is substantially marbled, showcasing a variety of colours, particularly within the sanctuary and nave. Gothic nave arcades are supported by black marble columns; a timber-boarded gallery is also present, and the sanctuary features a timber truss roof, gilded in appearance. Leaded windows are predominantly plain, with bands of blue and green. A mosaic of Christ adorns the altar, situated beneath a Gothic baldachin. Square-paned leaded stained glass is found in the chancel, along with stained glass within the Lady Chapel and the baptistery.

The glazing consists of large panel tracery leaded windows with bands of blue and green panes. The roof is covered with graded grey slates, featuring straight skews and gabletted skewputts. Cast iron rainwater goods include decorative hoppers.

The late 20th-century presbytery is a two-storey, slate-roofed house characterized by large picture windows. The boundary walls are rock-faced with chamfered copes, square-plan gatepiers with octagonal copes, and cast iron railings.