A large post-war, pre-Vatican II church of conventional longitudinal plan, internally planned to maximise visibility of the altar.

The church was built in 1957-8 to serve the newly-built Thorntree council estate. Foundation stone dated 4 June 1957. It consists of a wide nave and lower sanctuary and is faced with thin, light brown bricks laid in stretcher bond with recessed pointing. The dressings are of artificial stone. The nave has ten windows on either side, grouped in pairs and with shallow triangular heads; there is also a single window in the west bay (occupied by the gallery internally). Similar windows in the sanctuary sides, but the east wall is blind. The west front has a superarch embracing a tall three-light window and a square-headed doorway.

Internally the walls are faced in bare brick. The main, five-sided ceiling is covered with insulating tiles and there is a west gallery housing the organ. A huge lintel runs the length of the nave on each side where one might conventionally expect arcades. This allows for maximum visibility of the altar. There is no chancel arch, but the width of the sanctuary is reduced by the width of the side chapels. The altar has been brought forward, but the original flat reredos and altar canopy remain.

Amended by AHP 16.01.2021

Heritage Details