A modest late Victorian church, originally built as a school.

The mission at Goudhurst was established in 1882, with a chapel dedicated to the Sacred Heart established at Oakleigh House, a Home for Crippled and Invalid Children (The Tablet, 17 November 1883). A small piece of land was bought in 1886 and the present church was erected as a school soon afterwards.

Description

The church is built of brick with a tiled roof. It is a simple rectangle, gable end to the street and has large segment-headed side windows. Only the group of three steeped lancet windows to the street and the adjoining pointed arch to the porch give any ecclesiastical flavour and the church looks more like a school, the use for which it was originally built. There are brick buttresses along the sides and decorative stepped brick detailing in the gables. At the east end, placed at right angles is a smaller rectangle incorporating the sacristy. The interior is plain, with exposed roof trusses and pine pews. There are a number of icons in the church collected by Fr McClean over recent years. The painted Stations of the Cross are by Fr McClean’s uncle.

Amended by AHP 04.02.2021

Heritage Details