The interest of the English Martyrs church lies in the decoration of the interior and this is rather of curiosity value than of artistic significance.  

The church building is a utilitarian structure of 1968, a single rectangular space but with the altar placed on one of the longer walls. The main walls comprise a pre-cast concrete system of frames and panel walls. Externally the walls are clad with flint panels set in a cement matrix., has Crittall windows and a pantiled roof. From 1937 until 1968 the adjoining Jupps barn (a grade II listed building, built in 1771) was used as the church. In 1987, Gary Bevans, a designer and parishioner, went on a pilgrimage to Rome. He was so impressed by Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel ceiling that he resolved to replicate it in his parish church at Goring. Six years later, in 1993, he had completed this recreation, at approximately two-thirds scale.  Acrylic paint was used on a white background on ply panelling.  Subsequently Gary Bevans has gone on to decorate other parts of the church with marbling.

Heritage Details