A post-Vatican II church by a significant post-war church building practice, notable above all for its high quality furnishings by Adam Kossowski and Charles Norris.

Catholic worship in Milnthorpe resumed in 1947 with the adaptation to a church of the Malt Kiln in Haverflatts Lane. The present church was built in 1970 by architects Weightman & Bullen of Liverpool (job architect Kevin Campbell), at a cost of £45,000. The principal donors were Ronald and Rhona Somerwell.

Description

The church is roughly circular in plan, presenting a solid rubble face to the street, with an upper stage clad with copper sheeting. The windows are confined to the north side, the baptistry area and over the altar area. A sloping paved court leads up to a deeply recessed porch and a large swing door.

The interior has a raised sanctuary with a black polished slate altar, placed slightly off-centre. There is a flat boarded ceiling which slopes up slightly over the sanctuary. The altar is top-lit, with wooden screens to deflect the light downward. The seating is arranged in a radial pattern around this, on a stone slate floor.

The church is notable for its furnishings, many of them by the Polish artist Adam Kossowski, who had collaborated with Weightman & Bullen at St Mary, Leyland (1962-4, listed Grade II). His polychrome ceramic furnishings include the figure of Christ the King at the front entrance, the Madonna and Child in the Lady Chapel and, most significantly, the 29 ft frieze of the Way of the Cross. There is a fluted concrete font in a baptistry area by the entrance. lit by a fine large dalle de verre window depicting the Creation of the Worlds by Fr Charles Norris OSB of Buckfast Abbey.

Entry amended by AHP 19.12.2020

Heritage Details