Church of Our Lady Star of the Sea, St Winifred

The Church of Our Lady Star of the Sea, St Winifred, is a striking and unique Catholic church that features a nautical theme in its design. The main body of the church has a high parabolic vault made of stressed concrete, with advanced ribs along its length that resemble the upturned hull of a boat. This structure rests on a roughcast rendered plinth, which includes portholes in each ribbed bay. The entrance faces south towards the road and has a dressed stone facade with raking sides, stepped up and topped with a plain stone cross. The central entrance is accessed via flanking flights of stone steps leading to a pointed arched doorway with two orders. Above the doorway is a star-shaped light set within a mosaic surround. Below the main entrance, under the steps, is a square-headed doorway flanked by pointed arched windows. At the rear of the church is a flat-roofed vestry, which can be reached by a dog leg flight of stone steps with rubblestone walls; the top flight is over a tall arch. There is also a doorway to the lower floor of the church at the rear of the east wall.

Entering through the main entrance leads directly into the rear of the nave, where the prominent vault that characterizes the exterior also dominates the interior. The church is illuminated by rib-like bands of geometrically patterned lights made in France. The lateral walls are plastered and painted white, and star-shaped lights made in Chester follow the line of the steep arch leading to the apsidal sanctuary. Notable fittings include a slate plaque at the rear of the nave commemorating the reopening and re-dedication on 1 May 2011, a carved limewood statue of Our Lady Star of the Sea on the west wall of the nave, oak herringbone flooring and benches, painted quatrefoil-shaped ceramic relief Stations of the Cross with hardwood cross finials, a carved oak crucifix in the apex of the apse, and sanctuary fittings from the 2011 renovation, including an altar, ambo, and tabernacle with a plinth made of Welsh slate and granite.