Christ Church

Christ Church is an Early English style church built of red Risca sandstone, with grey Forest stone and Bathstone for the window heads, dating to the early 19th century. It is set on a plan consisting of a nave with lean-to aisles, a lower apsidal chancel, a west porch, and a massive west tower with a tall spire.

The four-stage tower has a tall, slated spire. The ground floor of the tower features a western triplet window and a southern doorway of four moulded orders, the inner two orders dying into the impost. There are loops to the first floor of the tower, and lancets above. The tall belfry stage has arched, triple-shafted two-light belfry windows with timber louvres; trefoiled lights with a cusped foil above. Each window is set within a slightly canted wall with cylindrical angle turrets on spurred bases bearing conical slated caps, flanking a gabled clock face. A single-storey addition is attached to the east side of the tower. The west end of the nave has a steeply gabled porch on paired polished shafts, with a two-order doorway and polished shafts, and a hood mould with large head-stops. Paired tall windows are above (two-light with spurred quatrefoil), with a large wheel window to the gable. Two-stage buttresses flank the west end of the nave. Two-light plate traceried windows are found at the west end of each aisle. Similar windows are set into the buttressed five-bay side elevations of the aisles, with circular cinquefoiled clerestory windows above. At the northeast corner of the north aisle is a broad circular corner turret with an octagonal upper stage, having open arcading and a small, sprocketted candlesnuffer spirelet. The chancel is slightly lower, with a canted east end, set on a high basement on sloping ground. Tall buttresses are at the angles between very tall two-light windows with Geometric tracery. Plate-traceried windows are also set into the basement.

Inside, five bay arcades feature double-chamfered arches on circular piers, treated with pitch to emulate polished granite and bearing moulded caps. There is a moulded chancel arch on triple corbel shafts. The nave roof has paired arch-braces on moulded stone corbels, while the chancel has a painted boarded roof. Original open pews date to 1861. A Bathstone polygonal pulpit with polished pink marble angle colonettes is ornamented with carved symbols of the Evangelists within quatrefoils. A polygonal font, along with the pulpit, is likely the work of Norton. A heavy oak chancel screen, designed in 1914 by Brakspear, contains open arched bays with flowing carved tracery, a coved loft with fan tracery, a panelled loft with fretwork panels, and a reredos above featuring an elaborate crucifix. Matching oak choirstalls and a communion rail of 1922, and the carved oak reredos of 1917 depicting the Last Supper, are all in a similar style and were probably designed by Brakspear. A tall dado of ashlar to the sanctuary features blind traceried panels. Crocketted niches containing carved saints are in the angles of the apse, and a painted frieze is at impost level with simple monograms. An immersion pool is located under the floorboards at the west end. Stained glass east windows, dating from c. 1861, depict the Apostles and are by O’Connor. The west wheel window, from 1816, is by Powell & Co. (patternwork). West windows depicting saints date to 1953 and are by Celtic Studios, alongside a signed window in the north aisle (1968, music makers). Further signed windows from different periods include a depiction of the Holy Family and Simeon (1929) by W. Morris & Co., Westminster, located in the south aisle.