Roman Catholic Church of St Saviour, boundary wall, gatepiers and overthrow, Broadway, Worcestershire

Summary

A Roman Catholic parish church, built as a Benedictine monastery chapel 1828-9, extended and altered circa 1850, possibly by Charles Hansom, for a Passionist community, converted to a parish church in 2000; together with its boundary wall, gatepiers and overthrow.

Description

MATERIALS
The church is constructed from local Cotswold limestone under a slate roof.

PLAN
The church is a simple rectangle on plan, orientated east-west, with a small chapel projecting on the south side. The liturgical east end is at the west. Attached to the west is the former monastic building, and at right angles extending southwards is the former retreat house. The first two bays of this building are now part of the church.

EXTERIOR
The high single-storey church has long elevations of squared and coursed limestone, and a relatively shallow-pitched roof, the eaves carried on widely-spaced stone corbels. The entrance front is ashlar, with pilaster buttresses which break up through the eaves to form plinths for stone statues. The central, semi-circular-arched doorway has jamb shafts and three orders of neo-Norman chevron carving. Above the doorway is a stone plaque carved with the emblem of the Passionists, and above this a round-headed niche containing a statue of Christ the Saviour; the gable is surmounted by a stone cross. To the north return wall, the first bay, added circa 1850, is ashlar, with squared and coursed limestone beyond. The windows all have semi-circular arched heads. The first bay has windows to ground and first floor, to reflect the internal gallery; that to the ground floor is blocked. The remainder is in four bays, the first blind, the other three each with a large, semi-circular arched window, though the first bay shows evidence of rebuilding, indicating that a window has been blocked. To the west end the ridge is surmounted by a stone double bellcote. To the south side the two visible bays match those to the north. The next bay is occupied by a single-storey, flat-roofed chapel with a round-headed window with hood mould, a straight buttress and a moulded parapet. The remainder of the north side is abutted by the retreat house of 1908, and the 1830 monastic range extends from the west end of the church.

INTERIOR
The church is entered by a door at the eastern end (liturgical west end), under the gallery, which has a bowed timber front and panelling to the rear. To the left is a small room in which the font survives as the base of a bookcase. The church, as a single space with no division to the sanctuary, is plain plastered with a string course under the window cills. The windows are in deep, splayed reveals, and have plain glazing. The floor is parquet, and a continuous, flat panelled timber ceiling extends through the whole space. The side chapel, with a segmental-arch opening with a roll moulding, has a moulded cornice and coloured glass. The carved stone and marble altar has a Pietà reredos. The sanctuary is distinguished by oak panelling on all three sides, incorporating stalls, extending into timber pilaster strips above. The marble altar and classical reredos remain against the rear wall, which has a shallow round-headed niche above, with a large Crucifixion.

PRINCIPAL FITTINGS
The large ALTAR is of stone and marble, and dates from 1900. The sanctuary PANELLING and STALLS, with trefoil-headed ends, were introduced in the 1930s when the painted decorative scheme was replaced. The bench PEWS, with shaped ends and solid backs, probably date from circa 1850 when the chapel was extended and altered. Figures are by Hardman and Co, circa 1850.

SUBSIDIARY FEATURES
The roadside boundary of the churchyard is marked by a wall of squared and coursed limestone with a pedestrian gateway of two piers and an overthrow. The piers have limestone ashlar dressings with vermiculated rusticated blocks between, and moulded caps with a shallow modillion cornice. The round-arched iron overthrow incorporates scrolls, a central cross and lettering reading CATHOLIC CHURCH.

History

The church was built in 1828-9 as the Chapel of St Adrian and St Dionysius, to serve a Benedictine monastery which was constructed adjoining the chapel from 1830, by Augustine Birdsall OSB, president-general of the English Benedictines at the time. Soon after this a new wing was added to the monastery as a college for the teaching of languages. Following Birdsall’s death in 1837 the monastery and college went into decline, and the monks dwindled and dispersed. The site was purchased in 1850 by Passionists from Woodchester Park in Gloucestershire; they established a religious community and novitiate. The chapel was extended by the addition of a new bay and entrance front, in a neo-Norman style; a bellcote was added, and the interior updated. The chapel was re-dedicated to St Saviour. In 1851, a school was built alongside the monastery, together with a schoolteacher’s house, which was designed by Charles Hansom (listed Grade II), who is also likely to have designed the new entrance front to the chapel. The interior of the chapel was altered in 1900 by the addition of a new high altar and the interior walls and ceiling were painted with a new figurative scheme by Brother Mark Kangley. New panelling and flooring were introduced in the 1930s, and the murals painted over. The chapel was redecorated again in 1984, and the sanctuary reordered in 1988.

In 2000 the parish was handed back from the Passionists to the Benedictines, and thence to the Archdiocese of Birmingham. The former monastery building extending to the west of the chapel was sold and converted to private flats, which were altered by subdivision and the insertion of uPVC windows. In 1908, a retreat house had been constructed at right angles to the chapel, designed by Curran and Sons of Warrington, to replace the former Benedictine monastic building. A small portion of this building was retained by the Archdiocese as a parish room (not included in this List entry), and the remainder also sold and converted to flats, with subdivision and the addition of new windows.

Reasons for Listing

The Roman Catholic Church of St Saviour at Broadway, built in 1828-9 for a Benedictine community, later used by the Passionists, now a parish church, together with its boundary wall, gatepiers and overthrow, is listed at Grade II, for the following principal reasons:

* Historic interest: the building is a relatively early Catholic chapel, built at around the time of the Catholic emancipation, and has served as the place of worship for communities of Benedictines and Passionists, becoming a parish church in 2000, and thus has a long and varied history;
* Architectural interest: the building is in a restrained but imposing classical style, and although the architect of the original church is not known, it was extended and refronted in 1850, probably by Charles Hansom, a prolific and accomplished Catholic ecclesiastical architect;
* Group value: with the adjacent former church schoolmaster’s house, now the presbytery, built to designs by Charles Hansom in 1851.

External Links

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