The significance of the building lies in the fact that it occupies the early nineteenth-century engine house of a former cloth mill. It is a plain stone-built industrial vernacular building which makes a positive contribution to the local conservation area. It has been adapted to become a pleasing small church with a hall on the upper floor.

From about 1914 Wotton was served by Dominicans from Woodchester. However, shortly after the war it was decided that it was not practicable to serve the small congregation, and it was not until 1949 that Mass was again said here regularly, with the arrival of the Salvatorians from Thornbury (qv). They used the boys’ club but in 1953 the present church was established. The building, purchased at auction for £500, had been part of the Old Town cloth mill, built in 1817. This was originally water-powered but the water supply was unreliable and it was converted to steam in 1825 with a fifteen horsepower engine which serviced the whole factory. The church was created in what was called the Upper Room, previously used as the Liberal Club. The Diocese of Clifton provided £1,000 for its refurbishment. In August 1962 Mr R. W. Morley conveyed the property next door, 13 Old Town, to the church and this became the residence of the priest, who had formerly lived at Thornbury. The Upper Room became dilapidated and in 1982 it was decided to move the church downstairs with the upper floor being used for social and other events. The relocated church was blessed on 22 September of that year. Since the death of the last parish priest in 2010 the church has again been served by the Salvatorians of Thornbury. 

Description

The church occupies the ground floor of the former engine house of the Old Town cloth mill. The limestone rubble building is plain, of three storeys and with a hipped slate roof. The window openings on the front elevation have segmental heads with keystones, and have been re-glazed with hardwood framed windows with diamond leaded quarries. The scar of the former external covered staircase can be seen on the side elevation. The entrance is set back on this side in a modern range with a steep slate roof and hardwood doors.

The interior is plain but welcoming in character. It has plastered side walls and exposed rubble stone walls at the ends. There are three large cased-in beams, and a carpet-tiled floor. There are no fittings or furnishings that require particular mention. 

List description

II

Dwellings, formerly mill. Dated 1817 (date stone badly worn). Rubble, stone slate roof. Lofty structure, in part parallel ranges with valley gutters. Three storeys, five-windowed; casements under segmental stone arches with projecting keystones.
Listing NGR: ST7582493401

Heritage Details