Description

SD 52 SW
119/8/10005

LEYLAND
BROADFIELD DRIVE
Roman Catholic Church of St Mary

GV
II
Roman Catholic Church. 1962-64. Weightman and Bullen (Partner in charge J. Faczynski). Stained glass by Patrick Reyntiens. Pink brick, reinforced concrete, copper covered roofs, zig-zag to main space and flat to aisle. Circular, aisled plan with projecting entrance and five projecting chapels. Central altar.

Entrance in large projecting porch with roof rising outwards and the roof slab cantilevered above the doors, its underside curving upward. Large polychrome ceramic mural representing the Last Judgment by Adam Kossowski occupies the width of the porch above the two double-doored entrances. Brick rotunda with projecting painted reinforced concrete chapels to left and right, of organic round-cornered form. Those behind are square-sided. Folded radial roof above main space, leaning outwards to shelter triangular clerestory windows. Circular glazed light to centre of roof, its sides leaning outwards, culminating in a sculpted finial of copper or bronze.

Internally, sanctuary is floored in white marble, raised by a step, and the white marble altar is raised by three further steps. Fixed curved timber benches are placed on slightly raked floor. `Y' shaped concrete aisle posts, designed to incorporate the stations of the cross, sculpted by Arthur Dooley. Above these the exposed brick drum rises to the exposed, board-marked concrete folded roof. The aisle walls comprise thirty-six panels of abstract dalle-de-verre stained glass, totalling 233 feet in length, by Patrick Reyntiens, mostly in blues and greens. The theme is the first day of Creation. Suspended above the altar is the original ring-shaped light fixture, and also Adam Kossowski's ceramic of Christ the King. Further original light fittings are suspended above the congregation. The font is placed in the narthex, in a shallow, marble-lined depression in the floor. It comprises a concrete cylinder with an inscribed bronze lid. The Blessed Sacrament Chapel, with its rising roof slab, contains a green marble altar with in-built raking supports. Behind it is a tapestry representing the Trinity, designed by the architect J. Faczynski.

Uncommon as an example of a circular church with a central altar, this attractive church is adorned with some distinguished integral works of art. The freestanding tower to the liturgical NW is an integral part of the design (qv).

(Church Building: October 1964: 3-9; The Builder: May 22nd 1964: 1061-3).

Listing NGR: SD5315421885

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26657154

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Somerset: North and Bristol: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  A Buying and Owning a Listed Building: A Brief Guide
• 
  Gwent/Monmouthshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Wales)
• 
  Cambridgeshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Yorkshire West Riding: Leeds, Bradford and the North (Pevsner Architectural Guides / Buildings of England)
• 
  Somerset: South and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)