Catholic Church of St. Mary

Street elevation of coursed red sandstone rubble with Bath stone dressings and Welsh slate roofs. Plain Gothic style of a North Italian influence. Three bay front with central entrance set forward in the base of the tower. The double plank doors are recessed within a pointed Venetian Gothic arch with attached half-columns with stiff-leaf capitals. The door is flanked by 2-light windows in ashlar frames, dripmoulds over. Above the door is a window of paired tall lancets. Above this the projecting tower is supported on paired pointed arches. Open bell stage with paired openings with central colonette of Lombardic type facing in each direction, two bells. Dentil cornice, bell-cast rectangular spire, coped gable on either side of the tower.

The side elevations are rendered, but clearly show the two builds with two windows of 1871 at the street end and three of 1793 to the centre, and further part of 1838 to the rear of 2 bays Continuous roofline, stepped down to rear. The Bucknall (1871) windows are 2-light with cinquefoil heads, the earlier ones are pointed headed sashes, 1838 windows are pointed sashes with intersecting tracery. East (liturgical) elevation, pebble-dashed with 2 windows, stepped gable and gablet cross.

The interior is very plain with a corniced ceiling and a triple sanctuary arch, now a small apse flanked by doors, and with galleries presumably from the 1838 work, and staircase to rear, with square balusters, turned newels and swept handrail from the same period. Unusual font in baptistery with a serpent in alabaster, probably of 1888. The church also contains relics of St John Kemble of Welsh Newton, who was executed at Hereford in 1679, and canonised in 1970 as one of the forty martyrs of England and Wales, these include a C16 oak table altar used by Kemble at Pembridge Castle. Nearby timber confessionals 1875 Lady altar in gallery over the sanctuary with C17 oak chest and C19 Gothic reredos.

Stained glass: sanctuary S Virgin and Child c1840 from the Catholic chapel of Coedanghred (Mons., dem. 1924. See Buildings of Wales, Newman, p399); nave S composite incorporating angels, cherubs and putti, of early C19 character, possibly also from Coedanghred, and nave N the Incredulity of St Thomas, late C19, by John Hardman & co.