Survey Data
Reg No
20829008
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Artistic, Social
Previous Name
Catholic Church of Saint John and Saint Virgilius
Original Use
Church/chapel
In Use As
Church/chapel
Date
1820 - 1840
Coordinates
200642, 76689
Date Recorded
24/09/2007
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Freestanding cruciform-plan gable-fronted Roman Catholic church, built c. 1830. Comprising five-bay side aisles, gable-fronted porch to north-east elevation, gable-fronted porches to south-west elevation, transepts, chapel and three-bay sacristy to rear (south-east) elevation. Pitched slate roofs with limestone copings, brackets and open-work belfry having cross finial to front (north-west) elevation. Brick chimneystack to sacristy. Snecked limestone walls with buttresses to aisles, transepts and rear elevations and limestone plinth course. Lancet opening having flanking paired lancet quarry glazed windows to front. Paired lancet quarry glazed window openings to aisles. Multifoil oculi to transepts over triple lancet quarry glazed windows. Pointed arch opening to rear having limestone hood moulding and block-and-start surround over quatrefoil tracery and trefoil-headed lancet stained glass windows. Pointed arch openings to rear having limestone hood mouldings and block-and-start surrounds over trefoil tracery and trefoil-headed lancet stained glass windows. Pointed arch opening having hood moulding and chamfered surround over timber battened double-leaf doors with ornate cast-iron strap hinges. Pointed arch opening to north-east aisle having chamfered surround and timber battened door. Pointed arch opening to south-west aisle with hood moulding having ornate stops, chamfered surround and double-leaf timber battened doors with ornate cast-iron strap hinges. Sacristy comprising pitched slate roof with limestone copings and brackets. Snecked limestone walls with plinth course. Lancet quarry glazed windows. Pointed arch opening having limestone surround and timber battened door. Timber scissors truss roof to interior. Timber gallery with Doric style columns. Octagonal limestone piers to transepts. Mosaics to chancel walls. Pair of ashlar limestone chamfered square-profile piers with double-leaf cast-iron gates. Rubble limestone boundary walls to site.
Appraisal
Set within its own grounds, this church presents a well-proportioned, handsomely decorated façade. The stained glass and timber doors enlivened by hinges compliment the dressed limestone elevations. The interior retains many interesting features including the timber ceiling, limestone piers and mosaic walls decorations. Prominently sited the church forms a local landmark in the area.