Catholic Church of Our Lady of Lourdes

The Catholic Church of Our Lady of Lourdes is a building designed in a simple modernist vernacular style. It consists of a series of flat-roofed blocks, with a steep mono-pitched roof rising over the sanctuary and a smaller angular mono-pitched lantern above the baptistery. The main body of the church is almost square in plan, with a slightly narrower sanctuary. The entrance is located on the west side, which is the liturgical south, in a porch situated between the square, advanced baptistery block and the long sacristy range that runs east-west. The walls are finished in white painted roughcast render on a plinth of grey engineering bricks, except for the sanctuary, which is set on a plinth of coursed rubble granite. The windows are made of timber with slate sills, and there are timber glazed doors. The flat roofs are covered with felt, while the monopitch roofs are finished with slate and copper. A simple, thin painted steel cross is mounted on the liturgical west wall of the church.

Inside, the church features a simple yet dramatic design, combining low pine tongue-and-groove boarded ceilings with a double-height space that provides top-lighting for the sanctuary. Access is gained from the porch, leading into a small narthex that includes the former baptistry in the west corner and the sacristy to the east. The narthex serves as a standing area above the main worship space, which it nearly forms an aisle for, and is illuminated by five deep-set skylights; the pine balustrade is a later addition. Steps, along with an added ramp, lead down to the worship area, where the liturgical north wall is angled towards the sanctuary and features a low ceiling. The double-height sanctuary is raised one step, with the altar elevated a further three steps, all dramatically lit from the clerestory window in the liturgical east face of the monopitched roof, along with two high-set windows in the wall below. The altar, positioned towards the front of the sanctuary, is made of massive slabs of Penrhyn slate. A brass cylindrical tabernacle is located on the rear wall, topped with a slate piece that supports a timber and metal crucifix, and above this is a sculptured fish emblem featuring the Chi-Rho symbol. The church also displays painted ceramic Stations of the Cross, and the floors are primarily quarry tiled, with some areas carpeted.