A plain church of the early 1960s, extended in the 1980s, and a notable example of shared use of church premises.

In 1951 a small building on the London Road, Wendover was blessed by Bishop Parker and used as a church. Served by the Fathers of the Sacred Hearts at Great Missenden, it formally became part of that parish in 1958. In 1956 a larger site in the Aylesbury Road was purchased and Bishop Parker laid the foundation stone for the present church on 20 May 1961. The architects were the London firm of Archard & Partners, the builders Webster & Canon of Aylesbury.

Since 1987 the premises have been shared with a local Free Church congregation and in 1989 a large extension, the Christian centre, was built at the rear. The church is also used by the Anglicans, and the three Churches signed a covenant in September 2000. The church continues to be served from Great Missenden, although no longer by the Fathers of the Sacred Hearts.

Description

The church is of portal frame construction, clad with purple buff bricks laid in Flemish bond, under a modern concrete pantile roof. The west gable end serves as the entrance and has a central doorway with a flat projecting entrance canopy and a window above with a triangular head, following the profile of the gable. Raised brick crosses are set into the brickwork on the entrance front. The side elevations are plain, with metal windows. Behind the church is a large parish hall, built in 1989 in similar style and materials, doubling the footprint of the building.

The church interior consists of a single space, with bay divisions delineated by the portal frame. The walls are plastered and white painted, and there is a gallery at the west end with a narthex/ lobby below. There are nicely detailed, simple stone holy water stoups on either side of the entrance into the main space. Original benches in the nave, also plain. The chancel furnishings include some handsome ex-situ Gothic furnishings and wall-mounted stained glass panels (1910, in the style of Jones & Willis, provenance unclear) and a modern statue of Our Lady. Small ceramic Stations of the Cross in the nave.

Heritage Details