Church of Holy Ghost and Mary Immaculate, Olton, Solihull

Summary

A Roman Catholic church, built 1926-9, designed by George Bernard Cox of Harrison and Cox, Birmingham, in a combination of Early-French and Early-English Gothic styles, built for the Order of Capuchin Friars of the Franciscan Monastery of the Immaculate Conception; part of the original timber nave roof was destroyed by a fire in 1970.

Description

MATERIALS: Flemish-bond red brick walls with ashlar-stone dressings and Westmorland slate roofs.

PLAN: the church has a cruciform plan, with an aisle-less nave to the south-west, Lady Chapel to the north-west, chancel to the north-east, and a side chapel and campanile to the south-east (for the purposes of this description, the rest of the text will refer to the liturgical directions with the chancel at the east end and the nave to the west). The church is attached to the former seminary school to the east (subject to a separate assessment).

EXTERIOR: at the west end is a stone frieze with a row of carved shields with coats of arms of the Franciscan order and a five-light west window with cusped tracery detail. Under the window is a red-brick narthex added in 1970-1, which is of lesser interest. The corner of the church and the narthex are chamfered. On the north side of the nave are alternating projecting full-height bays with chamfered corners. The south side is similar; however, it also includes alternating projecting half-height bays. The nave bays are marked by brick buttresses with stone gabled caps. The nave is lit by tracery-headed lancets. At the east end of the north elevation is a small Lady Chapel with lancet windows, an apse with incised cruciform detailing at one gable end and a separate flat-roof entrance porch under a traceried Reuleaux window at the other. At the east end is the chancel. The north elevation has a central two-light window with quatrefoil, flanked by single-light windows. Above is a canopied statue niche containing the Virgin and Child (the face of Jesus has recently been re-cut following weather damage). The east-end polygonal apse is decorated by a central recessed brick arch incorporating a rosary window. To the south of the chancel is the side chapel with four lancet windows and a stone drip course incorporating grotesques. Also to the south is the vestry range with a variety of lancets, mullion windows and pointed-arch openings, including a blocked opening on the first-floor above the covered-walkway link that was originally intended to provide access to the friary. This range also includes the campanile which is topped by a brick-and-ashlar stone bell tower with double and single-lancet openings and a pyramidal roof. The rainwater good are cast-iron and include hoppers decorated with embossed ‘F’s.

INTERIOR: the 1970s narthex houses the vestibule and an enclosed timber staircase leading to the nave gallery. The west gallery is decorated with carvings, including shields bearing interpretations of the Passion on the fascia. The aisle-less nave is flanked by alternating bays containing side chapels with shrines and altars, and pair of confessionals. The church has a stone floor with green-marble detailing and plain-plaster wall. The pointed barrel-vaulted Oregon-pine roof has timber transverse arches supported by pilasters topped by carved wooden angles bearing shields. The Lady Chapel is housed in the north transept, separated from the nave by an arcade with polished stone columns and leaf capitals. The chapel contains a polychrome marble altar and altar rail, and a set of stained glass donated by and dedicated to the family of G B Cox. Adjacent to the chapel is the 1930s nave pulpit. The pointed-chancel arch and polychrome-marble communion rail divides the chancel from the nave. The chancel has a groin-vaulted ceiling and marble floor with mosaic decoration depicting motifs relating to the Franciscan order. Beyond is another stone arch framing the apse which houses the high altar, stone piscina and a more elaborate timber-vaulted roof. To the south is a side chapel designed for the friars that contains good quality oak furnishings, a parquet floor and a figure of Our Lady in a carved timber aedicule. Above is a first-floor organ gallery with an open arcade with timber balconies that overlooks the side chapel. Opposite the Lady Chapel is the double-leaf timber door that leads through to the vestry (which contains an inbuilt full-height safe). A further set of double doors leads through to the interior of the campanile and a stair with a carved timber banister with newel posts topped by animal sculptures that leads up to the organ gallery. Sets of ladders lead to the upper stages and the bell turret.

History

The Church of Holy Ghost and Mary Immaculate was built between 1926-29 for the Order of Capuchin Friars of the Franciscan Monastery of the Immaculate Conception. The site at Olton was originally acquired by Bishop William Bernard Ullathorne in 1871. A seminary was designed by Edward Joseph Hansom and it opened in 1873. In 1888 Ullathorne was succeeded by Bishop Edward Ilsley. In 1889 it was deemed too small to meet the requirements of the seminary college and Ilsley decided to move the school back to St Mary’s College in Oscott. The Olton site was acquired by the Capuchin Friars of the English province, with the former seminary school becoming the Franciscan Monastery of the Immaculate Conception. A temporary public chapel was formed in the attached enclosed walkway, the only completed side of a proposed quadrangle, and in 1890 a cemetery was consecrated in the land to the south.

George Bernard Cox of Harrison and Cox, Birmingham was enlisted to design a new church attached to the west of the friary. The church’s foundation stone was blessed by Archbishop McIntyre on 21 April 1926. It was opened by Archbishop Williams on 12 November 1929. In 1930 a pulpit, donated by parishioners in memory of Father John Mary, was added. An organ was installed in the loft in 1932 (it was moved to west gallery and in 1966 reinstalled in its original position). The Lady Chapel altar was installed in 1939. In 1944, sanctuary communion rails were erected and works commenced on the Sacred Heart altar. In 1970 a fire destroyed part of the nave roof. It was restored and reopened in 1971. In 1981 the Capuchin Friars left and the church was taken over by the Society of the Sacred Heart of Betharram. In the late-C20 the church was reordered and a new altar placed in the middle of the chancel. The nave pews date from 1970-1 and replaced those of 1932 which were destroyed in the fire. The church was consecrated on 4 October 1990.

Reasons for Listing

The Church of the Holy Ghost and Mary Immaculate is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Architectural interest: a good example of a mid-C20 church, that demonstrates the effective employment of a variety of Early-Gothic styles by an important regional architect, George Bernard Cox;
* Internal decoration: a strong internal design with numerous references to the original Franciscan order who founded the church including mosaic motifs and intricately carved timber decoration;
* Group value: it forms an important group with Olton Friary, an attached late-C19 former seminary training college (listed at Grade II).

External Links

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