Although architecturally unremarkable, this is a building of considerable significance in the development of the liturgical movement in England, and was recognised as such at the time of its opening. It has been described as ‘a small but significant architectural experiment’ which ‘signalled that the Roman Catholic Church in Britain was open to the possibility of a modern liturgical church architecture’. The church contains specially commissioned artworks and furnishings by Joseph Cribb, John Skelton, Rosamund Fletcher and others.

The mission at Pershore was founded in 1913 by the Rev. Norman Holly, who was serving as private chaplain to the Berkeley family at Spetchley Park. On his initiative the 1880s iron chapel which had served the Catholic congregation at Evesham (qv) and had become redundant after the building of the new church there in 1912 was brought to Pershore and re-erected in Priest Lane. After Fr Holly’s departure in 1917, the congregation remained without a priest and was served from Upton until 1943, during which time Mass attendance declined.

A revival took place in the late 1940s and 1950s, and two years after the arrival of Fr James Crichton in 1955 the diocese offered a loan of £10,000 towards the building of a new church.

Fr Crichton was an important writer on the liturgy, who in 1943 had written an article for the Society of St Gregory on his ‘dream church’, highlighting the centrality of the altar in church design. From 1952, he was editor of the Society’s journal, Liturgy. With Archbishop Grimshaw of Birmingham and the writer and liturgist J. B. O’Connell, Fr Crichton attended the International Congress on the Pastoral Liturgy at Assisi in 1956, at which Pope Pius XII was the keynote speaker. The ideas of the liturgical movement being advanced on the continent, which (with some notable exceptions) had made little impact in Britain, were put into practice at Pershore. Designs were obtained from Hugh Bankart FRIBA of Bath for an inexpensive church incorporating modern ideas of church planning, which evolved into the present simple rectangular church with a square plan, with a central altar to encourage full and active participation of the congregation in the liturgy. The altar was designed to allow for Mass to be said with the priest facing the people, and a removable communion rail was provided. The altar was without a tabernacle and the Blessed Sacrament was reserved in a separate chapel. The font was placed on the central axis of the church in the vestibule. In the words of Fr Crichton, ‘we started with the altar and the font – all else has come from that’ (quoted in Proctor, p. 149).

The new church was opened for Easter 1959, although the proposed northwest tower was never built. Priest and architect also decided that all the fittings should be made by individual artists, and these were installed over the ensuing months. The old iron church was rented out as a labour exchange. A primary school was built next to the church in 1967 and also a new presbytery. The old church was finally taken down in 1968 and a new parish hall built in 1979.

Description

The church is a rectangular building in a simple modern style. The exterior is faced with red brick laid in Flemish bond with dressings of artificial stone; the roof coverings of the main overall pitched roof are Roman tiles. Across the west front is a single-storey narthex with a central stone entrance doorway and a flat roof continued on either side to form canopies over the side doors. Above the narthex is a triple window, over which is a corbel for a statue which seems never to have been provided.  The side walls are divided into five bays by brick buttresses with rectangular windows high in the wall of each bay.

The main entrance opens to the baptistery with its stone font, centrally placed in the narthex on axis with the altar. The main worship space has a composition stone floor, plain plastered and painted walls and a cambered ceiling. The side windows are clear glazed.  The sanctuary is set on a platform against the windowless east wall and is flanked by round-headed openings to the small side chapels.

The principal original furnishings include the primitive Portland stone high altar and the altars in the Blessed Sacrament and Lady chapels, all carved by Joseph Cribb of Ditchling (a pupil and assistant of Eric Gill). Cribb also carved the limewood statue of Our Lady, based on an image found on an ancient seal of Pershore Abbey. The hammered anodised figure of the Risen Christ against a cross (now on the wall behind the altar but originally suspended from a canopy shaped like an angular umbrella over the altar) and the altar fittings in the side chapels are by Michael Murray, a disciple of Dunstan Pruden of Ditchling. The octagonal stone font is by John Skelton (a nephew of Gill) and is set within a sunken circle. The low-relief Portland stone Stations of the Cross (two of which had been exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1959) were carved by Rosamund Fletcher of Oxford (a fifteenth Station, depicting the Resurrection, was added in 1983). The stained glass roundel in the Blessed Sacrament chapel (Last Supper) and Lady Chapel (Annunciation) are by Philip Brown. Later furnishings include the wrought iron and copper rail around the font, by Alan Evans of Stroud, and the three-light west window, by Dom Charles Norris of Buckfast Abbey. Seating, now and originally, consists of individual wooden chairs rather than pews. The light fittings appear to be the original ones. The altar rails (designed to be removable) have been removed. The present organ is a later introduction, replacing a Regency chamber organ that a parishioner had bought for £250 in Maidenhead.

List description (the church was listed Grade II in 2016, following Taking Stock)

A Roman Catholic parish church, built 1958-9 to designs by Hugh Bankart, FRIBA.

Reasons for designation: The Roman Catholic Church of The Holy Redeemer, St Wulstan and St Eadburga, built in 1958-9 to designs by Hugh Bankart, is listed at Grade II, for the following principal reasons: * Historic interest: the church, designed by Bankart to principles developed by Fr James Crichton, represents an important, early response to liturgical change, before such ideas became widespread through the Second Vatican Council; * Architectural interest: the building is not of great intrinsic interest, but is in a pleasant, Arts and Crafts-influenced style which allows clear focus on the sacrament; * Fixtures and fittings: the church has a good suite, all designed and made by individual artists and craftspeople, including Joseph Cribb, Rosamund Fletcher and Dom Charles Norris.

History: The mission at Pershore was founded in 1913 by the Rev Norman Holly, who was serving as private chaplain to the Berkeley family at Spetchley Park. A 1880s iron chapel which had become redundant after the building of the new Church of St Mary and St Egwin at Evesham in 1912 was brought to Pershore and re-erected in Priest Lane. After Fr Holly’s departure in 1917 the congregation remained without a priest and was subsequently served from Upton until 1943, with a dwindling congregation. After the Second World War, a Catholic revival took place in Pershore, and in 1957 a new church was planned by the new priest, Fr James Crichton, for which the diocese offered a loan of £10,000. Fr Crichton was a significant writer on the liturgy, who in 1943 had written an article for the Society of St Gregory on his ‘dream church’, highlighting the centrality of the altar in church design. From 1952, he was editor of the Society’s journal, Liturgy. Fr Crichton attended the International Congress on the Pastoral Liturgy at Assisi in 1956, where Pope Pius XII was the keynote speaker. Fr Crichton brought back ideas of the liturgical movement being developed on the continent, which had to date made little impact in Britain, but which he determined to put into practice at Pershore. Hugh Bankart, FRIBA of Bath was commissioned to design an inexpensive church which would incorporate these modern ideas of church planning. The brief resulted in a simple rectangular design with a square plan, with a central altar to encourage full and active participation of the congregation in the liturgy. The altar was set forward to allow for Mass to be said with the priest facing the people. The Blessed Sacrament was reserved in a separate chapel. The font was placed on the central axis of the church in the vestibule. A planned detached campanile adjacent to the NW corner of the building was never constructed, but otherwise the design was executed in accordance with Bankart’s model published in the Catholic Building Review for 1957 (see SOURCES). The church opened in time for Easter 1959. It was agreed that all the fittings should be made by individual artists and craftspeople, rather than catalogue items, and these were installed over the following months.

Details: A Roman Catholic parish church, built 1958-9 to designs by Hugh Bankart, FRIBA. MATERIALS Red brick, laid in Flemish bond, with artificial stone dressings; the roof structure is of steel, covered in clay Roman tiles. PLAN A simple rectangular plan. EXTERIOR The church is a high single storey, the long elevations of five bays divided by brick buttresses, each bay with a rectangular window with hollow chamfered surround set high in the wall, with small, rectangular paned metal windows. The west front has a flat-roofed narthex across most of its width, with the roof continuing beyond on either side to form canopies over the side doors. Above the narthex is a tripartite window with coloured glass. In the gable is a corbel for a statue, though no statue appears ever to have been installed. To the east the chapels flanking the sanctuary have flat roofs, and set lower, flat-roofed vestries run across the east end of the building. INTERIOR The main entrance opens to the baptistery with its stone font, centrally placed in the narthex in line with the altar. To the right are confessionals. The main worship space has a composition stone floor, plain plastered and painted walls and a cambered ceiling. The sanctuary is set on a shaped platform against the blind east wall, and is flanked by round-headed openings to the small side chapels, which have circular windows to their sides and are top-lit by circular roof-lights. PRINCIPAL FITTINGS The principal original furnishings include the Portland stone high altar and the ALTARS in the Blessed Sacrament and Lady chapels, all carved by Joseph Cribb of Ditchling. The hammered anodised FIGURE of the Risen Christ against a cross and the altar fittings in the side chapels are by Michael Murray. The octagonal stone FONT is by John Skelton and is set within a sunken circle. The low-relief Portland stone STATIONS OF THE CROSS (two of which had been exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1959) were carved by Rosamund Fletcher of Oxford. The stained GLASS roundels in the Blessed Sacrament chapel (Last Supper) and Lady Chapel (Annunciation) are by Philip Brown. Later furnishings include the wrought iron and copper RAIL around the font by Alan Evans of Stroud, and the three-light dalle-de-verre GLASS west window, by Dom Charles Norris of Buckfast Abbey.

Sources

Books and journals: Crichton, J D (Author), Holy Redeemer Pershore, The Story of a Parish, (1989); Proctor, R, Building the Modern Church: Roman Catholic Church Architecture in Britain, 1955 to 1975, (2014), 142-6; Scarisbrick, JJ, History of the Diocese of Birmingham 1850-2000, (2008), 155. Other: Catholic Building Review (Southern edition), 1957, pp 88-89; The Architectural History Practice Limited: Churches in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham: An Architectural and Historical Review Prepared for English Heritage and the Archdiocese of Birmingham (2015).

Heritage Details