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Architect's drawing
Quotations from the guide booklet current during the 1980s:
…The church… of its kind is a masterpiece of design and workmanship…
…The screen is an exquisite design, which is picked out in jet black and
gold leaf. Its height is proportioned to the elevation of the altar. The marble
squares in the wall of the screen, and in the floor of the choir, where they
reflect the brass work in the altar rail, draw the eye to the holy table…
…The arches of the arcading by the sides of the nave show the combined
skill of the stone mason and the brick layer, keeping an unbroken line, with the
bricks skilfully shaped to form the key of each arch. Although some would prefer
to have all stone or all brick, none can fail to admire such workmanship…
…An architect (of the house of God) has therefore to attempt to suggest
two essential attributes of Christ, his greatness and his accessibility. If his
greatness is not balanced by his accessibility then the effect is to trivialise
the individual by remoteness. If the greatness is obscured then the danger is to
give an impression of cosy familiarity…
Some of the coloured stonework can be seen to good effect in the north aisle
(illustrated below) where there is an interesting and unusual interplay of
arches. The
original design incorporated a tower and spire, but this was never built. Most
of the rest of the plan was completed, though, including good use of a sloping
site to enable a crypt to be built below the chancel and sanctuary. The Lady
Chapel is apsidal in form, like so many by the architect, and it has the
intimacy of style and attention to detail of the best. The curves of the apse
and the dome shaped roof are reflected in the gracefully curved steps of the
sanctuary, and colour is given not only in the brick and stone work, but also in
the stencilling on the roof and the turquoise mosaic tiles on the sanctuary
floor. The baptistery is also apsidal and contains an extremely unusual font
(NOT by Fellowes Prynne). Externally this baptistery becomes a feature of the
twin-doored porch. As with other churches, Fellowes Prynne gave a processional
cross as an offering of thanksgiving.
Heating was installed by the regular contractor, Kinnell & Co.
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