A former school building of 1920, converted to a church in 1970. The school building does not appear to have been of much architectural pretension and the conversion has not enhanced its architectural character.

The land was purchased in 1903 and a corrugated iron church built. A store next to the church, with corrugated iron roof may be a remnant of this first structure. The present brick building seems to have been built as the school in 1920. This was altered and extended and converted to the church in 1969-71 by Max Cross of Cross & Galloway of Bournemouth.

Description

A large brick building consisting of the original school building which is gabled and runs west to east, parallel to Norman Road. The extensions include a box-like extension to the south, the sanctuary, with a band of high level windows, a large wing, forming a T-plan, to the north, with a flat-roofed extension to the west, terminating in an open porch facing west, and a further flat-roofed block, incorporating kitchens etc., to the east. The conversion included the insertion of full height windows with concrete mullions and surrounds. These are of three-lights and there is one either side of the sanctuary and one in the gable end facing east. The ends of the old building have stone-coped gables with kneelers and small ventilator openings in the centre of the gable, a stone quatrefoil set within a circle. The nave has two large rectangular windows on each side together with three high-level horizontal windows above the flat-roofed projections, all in concrete surrounds. The interior is light and spacious with a flat plaster ceiling. T-plan, with the altar in the projection from the head of the T and the rest of the head forming transept-like wings, though the whole of the interior is open and undivided. The sanctuary is divided by a masonry pier from a recess filled by the organ. Fittings mostly contemporary with the conversion to a church and of no special merit. Earlier brass ambo, perhaps from the corrugated iron church.

Heritage Details