One of a number of churches built in the 1930s to serve Catholics in the expanding urban areas along the North Yorkshire coast, built of brick in a quiet, round-arched style and with much careful detailing. 

This was a new church on a new site, built to serve the expanding southern suburbs of Redcar in the 1930s. The foundation stone was laid on 1 July 1936 and the building opened the following year.

Description

The church is built of light brown brick laid in English bond and consists of an aisleless nave, a lower sanctuary, north transeptal Lady Chapel, northwest tower and a southeast sacristy. There is a shallow west porch but the current entrance is the one through the base of the tower. In the eastern angle between the chapel and nave is a small confessional. The sanctuary terminates at a shallow-angled point (inside the termination is expressed in a shallow, segmental apse). The roof covering is grey slate. The tower has a slightly Italianate feel, thanks to its overhanging pyramidal copper capping. It has tall, one-light openings on the west, north and east sides (blind recess south). All the windows in the body of the church are round arched, of single lights and are recessed under very shallow segmental arches which span the spaces between shallow pilasters. Beneath the windows are raised panels of herringbone brickwork.

The interior has plastered walls throughout. The sanctuary and chapel both have hemispherical plaster ceilings while the four-bay nave has a very simple tie-beam roof with king-posts and raked struts. It is enriched with pretty, rustic style red and blue decoration: on the east and west faces of the tie beams this takes the form of stylised, tulip-like motifs. The semi-circular chancel arch sits on thick imposts supported by large circular buff  sandstone columns. At the west end is a five-arched arcade, also of sandstone, supporting the gallery; the detailing is minimal with the capitals being reduced to plain cubes of stone. The interior is well-lit by a series of one-light windows. These retain their original, thick leading: the round-arched leading across the centre of the windows is mirrored in the west doors externally and the door to the sacristy internally. The seating consists of shaped benches which have been slightly shortened to allow passages at the side walls. The stairs to the gallery are modern and are replacements of circa 1997.

Amended by AHP 15.01.2021

Heritage Details