Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady of Lourdes, including boundary walls and railings, Hednesford, Staffordshire

Summary

Roman Catholic parish church, including boundary walls and railings, built in 1928-33, designed by George Bernard Cox of the Birmingham firm of Harrison and Cox, in a French-Gothic Style.

Description

Roman Catholic parish church, including boundary walls and railings, built in 1928-34, designed by George Bernard Cox of the Birmingham firm of Harrison and Cox, in a French-Gothic Style.

MATERIALS: reinforced-concrete superstructure faced with white-granite stone, and a pitched Welsh-slate roof. Within the foundations is a concrete raft employing over 1,500 tons of concrete and 150 tons of steel rods, and a series of crypts were built with adjustable jacks.

PLAN: a cruciform plan with the sanctuary at the south end and the nave at the north end (for the purposes of this description, the rest of the text will refer to the liturgical directions, with the sanctuary at the east end and the nave to the west).

EXTERIOR: the flat-roof single-storey west porch has triple-pointed arches on stone pairs. Above is a Marian inscription and carved Mary Regina symbol. Within is the central main double–leaf carved-timber entrance door. The porch is flanked by single-storey bays with single-lancet windows (the former baptistery to the left and a side porch to the right). Above the projecting porch is the west gable end with a central recessed triple-moulded pointed arch with jamb shafts. Within the arch is a three-light tracery window with a rose window above. Above the arch is a niche containing a statue of Our Lady. The gable end is topped by a stone cross and flanked by a pair of polygonal turrets topped by lancet openings and copper roofs. Each side of the nave is flanked by two projecting flat-roof, single-storey, polygonal aisle chapels with single-lancet windows. Above each chapel is a pair of cusped lancets that form the nave clerestory. The north and south transepts both have single-bay gable ends with a central triple-lancet and a rose window, and are flanked by polygonal turrets. The right and left return of each transept also contains paired lancets. The chancel end has paired lancets and a rose window at the east end. Between the east end and south transept is a bell turret and sacristy range. The bell turret, which does not contain a bell, is topped by a pyramidal roof and louvered openings. The sacristy consists of a single-storey pavilion with entrances on the south and east elevation and two-storey tower behind that contains the former organ gallery on the second floor. The windows in this range are a combination of square-headed mullions and single lancets.

INTERIOR: the interior has a geometric-patterned polychromatic stone floor, plain-plastered walls and a rib-vaulted ceiling supported by columns with Corinthian capitals. The vault ribbing and a frieze of religious text that runs around the whole interior is picked out in Marian blue. In the middle of the west end is the timber-and-painted-glass internal entrance porch, a side door to the left and the former baptistery with stained glass to the right. The ceramic Stations of the Cross that line the nave are by Philip Lindsey Clark. The pews are not original. The aisles have four side chapels with stained-glass windows, and are separated from the nave by a low triple-arch arcade supported by chamfered pillars. A set of three stone steps leads up to the chancel. The high altar sits under a painted and gilded Gothic baldacchino on marble shafts. A later altar table at the front of the chancel was added as part of late-C20 reordering and it is flanked by a later timber pulpit and a font that was moved from the baptistery chapel at the west end. The chancel contains four pairs of stained-glass windows (two added in the 1960s and the other two of unknown date), and below the windows is row of blind pointed-arch arcading. There are further marble and timber alters in the side chapels and the Lady Chapel in the south transept. The south-east corner of the church contains the sacristy and vestry with timber panelling and decorative in-built storage and vestment cupboards. A stone spiral staircase leads up to the former organ gallery which has been blocked off from the main church.

SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: a low ashlar-stone wall topped by decorative painted iron railings runs parallel to the main road. There are two sets of large entrance gates, decorated with religious symbols, to the east and west end of the church. Two further smaller pedestrian gates are located further to the east, and at the far east end is a vehicular entrance (the gates have been removed).

History

The current church was preceded by a school and Catholic chapel dedicated to St Joseph and St Philomena at Hill Top, Hednesford, built in the 1890s. The parish was initially served by a visiting priest from Cannock, until after 1907 when a resident priest was installed. In 1913 the then parish priest, Father Patrick Boyle, travelled to the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes.

Bernadette Soubirous (1844-1878) is first recorded as seeing the visions of the Virgin Mary in a cave at Lourdes in 1858. She later uncovered a spring on the site which was believed to possess healing qualities. The cave began attracting visitors and in the 1880s a basilica was built above it: Lourdes had become an important Catholic Pilgrimage site. Bernadette was beatified in 1925 and canonised in 1933.

Following his visit, Father Boyle determined to build a church and a replica of the grotto at Lourdes in Hednesford. His intention was to create a place of pilgrimage for those who could not afford to travel to France, however he died before his vision could be realised. Under his successor, Reverend Joseph Healey, a worldwide fundraising campaign led to the site at Uxbridge Road being purchased in 1923. G B Cox of Harrison & Cox was commissioned to design the building in a French-Gothic style. The cost of the church was upwards of £50,000. A reinforced-concrete superstructure was employed in order that the building could withstand shocks due to mining subsidence. Local newspapers at the time suggested that it was the first ‘earthquake’ proof building in the country. The foundation stone was laid in 1928 and the church was opened in 1934.

Within the grounds of the church is a concrete-and-stone replica of the grotto at Lourdes, finished in 1935. The surrounding land was laid out with a series of wide avenues and terraces for processional purposes.

The church and the Lourdes Grotto at Hednesford continue to act as a place of annual pilgrimage.

Reasons for Listing

The Church of Our Lady of Lourdes, , of 1928-34 by G B Cox, including boundary walls and railings, Hednesford is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

* Architectural interest: an ambitious design by a notable ecclesiastical architect that utilises the free French-Gothic style in a bold and eclectic way, that is further enhanced by the elaborately decorated boundary wall railings;
* Historic interest: since its construction the site has attracted visitors and from 1966 onwards it has hosted an annual diocesan pilgrimage;
* Structural interest: an interesting use of reinforced concrete superstructure, including a concrete platform and jacks within the crypt, to protect the building from potential mining subsidence;
* Level of intactness: the internal survival is good, including key fixtures and fittings such as the elaborate baldacchino, high altar, side chapels and Stations of the Cross;
* Group value: the church and the boundary walls form a strong and prominent group with the adjacent shrine honouring the grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes (listed at Grade II).

External Links

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