A very simple structure of the 1920s, notable above all as a minor example of the patronage of Amy Imrie (Mother Clare Imrie), the White Star heiress. 

*2018 Update: This church has been closed* 

In 1922 the Poor Clares arrived at Sclerder (q.v.), where the church was extended to become the parish church for the surrounding area. This work was carried out largely at the expense of Mother Clare Imrie (1870-1914), whose adoptive father was William Imrie, co-owner of the White Star shipping line. When he died in 1906, Amy inherited his fortune and became one of the wealthiest women in the country. A Catholic convert, in 1907 she joined the Poor Clares, becoming Sister Mary Clare and eventually Mother Clare. In 1907, having come into her fortune, she funded the building and lavish decoration of Pugin & Pugin’s church of St Mary of the Angels in Liverpool. She also built the public church at Sclerder, added in 1922. The church at Looe is a lesser example of her patronage; seating 120, it was built as a chapel-of-ease to Sclerder in 1923.

Description

The church is a basic structure built of painted artificial stone under an artificial slate roof. It is entered via a small gabled porch. The Gothick glazing bars and leaded lights lend an ecclesiastical air. The interior is a single volume, although a curtain allows the narrower sanctuary to be screened off when the nave is used for secular purposes. There is a pine boarded ceiling throughout, and a wooden reredos and panelling in the sanctuary. The only furnishings of note are the small painted Stations of the Cross in wooden Gothic Frames, the paintings of Flemish character, similar to those at Sclerder (q.v.).

Heritage Details