A church of the late 1960s, of brick and concrete construction, with an angular appearance and a large, open worship space.

Fundraising started in 1927 and a church was built on derelict land in 1933. This became the parish hall when the new church was built, but it is currently in poor condition and not used. Plans were set in motion for the new church in 1963. The architects were Mason & Richards & Partners of Wolverhampton and the builders J. W. Griffiths. The foundation stone was laid on Easter Sunday 1967 and the church was blessed and opened by Archbishop Dwyer on 7 December 1968. Today the church is served from St Mary and St John, Snow Hill (qv).

*Update: The church is now (2022) closed*

Description

This is a church of complex, angular outline, built of dark red brick with large pre-stressed concrete beams spanning the seventy foot-wide main worship space. The building is entered through a passage. At the rear there is an area under a low ceiling (with shrine of St Teresa) which gives into the cavernous worship space. On the left-hand side there is a Lady Chapel; on the right a small meeting room. The main lighting is from a deep strip of glazing at the rear. The side walls also have tall thin lights set between projecting strips of brickwork while there is back-lighting to illuminate the sanctuary. The interior walls are of exposed brick – all dark red-brown apart from buff for the sanctuary. The deep concrete beams are a prominent feature; in between them is flat boarding. Furnishings of note include cast Stations of the Cross by the French sculptor Raymond Delamarre (1890-1986), probably acquired for the original church.

Report amended by AHP 17.03.2022

Heritage Details