Built into a sloping site, the church was originally built as a parish hall to serve a separate church which in the event has not been built. Instead, over time the ‘hall’ has been enriched with furnishings better to denote its sacred function. The site lies within the Hadrian’s Wall corridor and World Heritage Site Buffer Zone.

The church was designed by Vincente Stienlet of Pascal J. Stienlet & Son to serve as a dual purpose church and hall pending the day that a separate church could be built. A presbytery was built at the same time. In the event, as so often, this ‘temporary’ arrangement has shown no sign of changing, and over time the ‘hall’ has been enriched with furnishings better to denote its sacred function. The parish is now served from West Denton, and a retired priest lives in the presbytery.

Description

The square-plan church is of pale buff brick construction with concrete wall heads. The roof is mostly covered in pitched mineral felt, but has some profiled steel sheet using a plasticol coated sheeting. The church is at the upper level of the site and can be reached by a winding path. A low-pitched glass roof, with glazed gablets, covers the nave. Inside a narthex leads to the church and to ancillary rooms. The nave has narrow vertical slit windows, filled with high quality stained glass, as are the roof lights. The sanctuary furniture is of simple design in light-coloured timber, and a large corona of a Crown of Thorns is suspended above the altar. Sturdy pews have back rails.

Heritage Details