Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady and St John, Chorlton, Manchester

Summary

Roman Catholic church, 1926-1927 to designs by Harold Greenhalgh. Presbytery, late C19.

Description

Roman Catholic church, 1926-1927 to designs by Harold Greenhalgh. Presbytery, late C19.

MATERIALS: Church: red brick with cream terracotta dressings with slate roofs. Presbytery: red brick with blue brick detailing, stone dressings and slate roofs.

PLAN: the church is built with the sanctuary facing west, but liturgical compass points are used for the description below.

The church has a nave with a west gallery, projecting south-west porch and north-west baptistery, and shallow transepts. The sanctuary is flanked by a Sacred Heart Chapel on the north side and Lady Chapel on the south side. A doorway in the east wall of the south transept leads through to the sacristies and the presbytery beyond.

The presbytery is of three storeys with a large cellar. It has a large, central entrance and staircase hall with rooms on either side, a large first-floor landing with bedrooms opening off, and a smaller, secondary staircase to the second-floor, attic storey.

EXTERIOR
Church: the church stands on the south side of High Lane. It is built of red brick in stretcher bond with cream terracotta dressings, a plinth and slate roofs. The six-bay nave has a projecting porch in the first bay of the south elevation. It has a wide, segmental arched doorway with a terracotta surround incorporating a hoodmould, and plank and batten double doors. Above is a gabled parapet with terracotta quoins, coping with an embellished cross to the gable apex and a panel with the relief letters AMDG (Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam) in the tympanum. To the rear there is the upper part of a large, arched window with reticulated tracery. The second to fifth bays are separated by buttresses and have large, arched windows of three lights with similar reticulated tracery. The sixth bay is a gabled transept with terracotta coping and an embellished cross at the gable apex, and a large, arched window of five lights with reticulated tracery. Attached to the east side of the transept are the five-bay, single-storey, parapetted sacristies. The elevation has four two-light mullion windows with terracotta sill and lintel bands with a doorway at the right-hand end. The doorway has a plank and batten door with a rectangular, stained glass overlight. The right-hand end is attached to the presbytery. To the rear of the sacristies, projecting from the east wall of the transept, is a single-bay chapel with an east gable and a raised and glazed lantern to the ridge. Behind is the sanctuary with a tall window of three traceried lancets.

The gabled west end has outer buttresses with panelled terracotta caps and terracotta coping with an embellished cross at the apex. There is a wide, segmental arched doorway with terracotta frame and hoodmould, and plank and batten double doors. To each side is a narrow, traceried lancet and above is a large, segmental arched window of five lights with a terracotta surround with blind tracery-panelled apron and hoodmould, flanked by vertical, moulding detail rising to two projecting finials. At the gable apex is an enriched niche containing a statue of St John. On the left-hand side of the elevation is the baptistery and on the right-hand side is the side elevation of the porch. Both are similarly treated, being a small, single bay with a gabled parapet and a single, narrow, rectangular lancet with sill and lintel bands. To the rear of the baptistery parapet is a sanctus bell.

The north elevation is similar to the south elevation with a nave with a gabled transept containing a large, arched, traceried window in the first bay, second to fifth bays separated by buttresses with large, arched, traceried windows and the projecting baptistery in the sixth bay. It has a gabled parapet to the north elevation and a window of two traceried lancets. Attached to the east side of the transept is a recessed, single-bay chapel with an east gable and a raised and glazed lantern to the ridge. Attached to the east gable wall is a small, single-bay, modern boiler house designed in keeping with the original building.

The gabled east end of the sanctuary is blind with three ventilation slots at the gable apex.

Presbytery: the presbytery is built of red brick in Flemish bond with occasional horizontal lines of blue brick, a narrow stone string between ground and first floors, a plinth, slate roofs and brick stacks. The windows are one-over-one pane hung sashes. It is designed in a Gothic style with irregular elevations, detailing and roofs. The west, front elevation is set back, but faces onto St Clements Road. It is of three bays with a central doorway reached by a flight of stone steps, irregular gables to the first and second bays, and a recessed third bay with a gabled dormer window. The arched doorway has a gabled door canopy with moulded stone consoles and stone coping. The door has a reverse-shouldered, timber doorcase with an elaborate overlight with stained glass quatrefoil in dentil roundel with stained glass spandrels. The door has a lower panel and an upper light of decorative, coloured etched glass. The bays to each side have canted-bay windows on the ground floor. The first and third bays on the first floor have segmental-arched, two-light windows with timber mullions and the second bay has a single-light window. The second floor has smaller segmental-arched, single-light windows in all three bays.

The south, side elevation is of two bays with double gables and irregular fenestration. The left-hand side has a single-light ground-floor window with reverse-shouldered lintel, and a cellar opening. The right-hand side has a slight projection with lean-to roof, cellar and two-light, ground-floor window, with a segmental-arched window on both of the floors above.
The north, side elevation has a lower, two-storey bay on the left-hand side with an east gable. This bay contains a reverse-shouldered doorway with segmental-arched overlight with a segmental-arched window to the left, and a single first-floor window. The second bay has a two-light window on the ground floor with a segmental-arched window on both the floors above. The right-hand bay is gabled with a projecting, corbelled stack.

The west, rear elevation has irregular fenestration with a gabled, projecting right-hand bay and a lean-to ground-floor outshot with a large timber and glazed, square bay. In between is the arched, traceried stair window.

INTERIOR
Church: the six-bay nave has a hammer-beam roof incorporating pierced tracery with moulded stone corbels. The entire east wall of the nave and the sanctuary walls, above a timber, enriched, panelled dado, are covered in a mosaic scheme designed by Eric Newton of Ludwig Oppenheimer Ltd. Above the sanctuary arch is a roundel of Christ and the Virgin Mary as Queen of Heaven, attended by angel minstrels playing musical instruments. The drapery of the clothes is pre-Raphaelite in form with blue and green wings to the angels. The wall has a decorative, geometric impost band with foliate decoration above and St Joseph standing to the left of the sanctuary arch and St John standing to the right of the sanctuary arch. Below, the mosaic depicts masonry with gold hatchments showing the symbol Chi Rho (the first two initials of Christ in Greek) with Alpha and Omega and a panelled dado level. The lower, side chapel arches are flanked by depictions of canopied niches containing flowering plants. The side walls of the sanctuary have large, complex scenes from the Book of Revelation. The window heads are incorporated into a mosaic of masonry walls, with decorative impost bands and mosaic walls below. The mosaic is continued into the window reveals. The mosaic on the east wall behind the reredos has a pattern of gold crosses. The sanctuary has a painted, panelled wagon roof ceiling. The floor is also of mosaic by Eric Newton, presently covered by carpet. The enriched, timber dado incorporates an elaborate Gothic timber reredos with gilded and painted figures depicting the Crucifixion with Christ flanked by the Virgin Mary and St John and angel minstrels, by the firm of Ferdinand Stuflesser. There is a white marble tabernacle. The high altar stands forward. It is of white marble with engaged, coloured columns and composite capitals and a central relief scene of the Last Supper.

The Sacred Heart Chapel and Lady Chapel both have a painted, panelled wagon roof ceiling with a central raised, rectangular glazed lantern. The chapels have timber, enriched, panelled dados each incorporating a Gothic reredos with an enriched, timber altar. The left-hand chapel reredos has a carved figure of the Sacred Heart and angels; the right-hand chapel reredos has a carved figure of the Virgin Mary holding the baby Christ and angels. The figures are painted and gilded. The Lady Chapel now contains the white marble font, which is octagonal with relief quatrefoil carvings on columns with an octagonal base, and a timber lid. It was supplied by Myeller of Landeck, Austria.

The nave has a timber-panelled dado and white-painted, plaster walls. The windows have leaded glazing incorporating coloured glass details and panels. Between the windows are Gothic timber panels depicting coloured, relief, painted, carvings of the Stations of the Cross by the firm of Ferdinand Stuflesser. At the west end there is a gallery of pitch pine supported on two timber posts with a timber staircase on the south side. The staircase has a timber balustrade with trefoil-pierced panel balusters. The gallery has an organ with decorated pipes. The large west window has a stained glass Assumption by Mayer of Munich. The entrance porch on the south side beneath the gallery has a mosaic floor with foliate border. The inner, timber double doors have leaded and stained glass upper lights and a leaded and stained glass overlight. The former baptistery on the north side beneath the gallery has a decorative iron gate. The floor is mosaic, depicting a banner, water, rushes and water lilies, with an octagonal marble panel where the font originally stood. The stained glass window shows the Baptism of Christ by Mayer of Munich.

The sacristies have leaded glass windows incorporating coloured glass details and panels, with a three-panelled door between the two rooms.

Presbytery: the main doorway opens into a wide entrance hall with an encaustic-tiled floor and a moulded cornice. Original panelled doors and moulded architraves remain throughout. The doors opening into the main ground-floor rooms have embellished architraves and nine-panelled doors. To the rear of the entrance hall is an open-well, timber staircase rising to the first floor landing and lit by the traceried stair window. The sexfoil and spandrels at the window apex have richly-coloured stained glass. The staircase has moulded newel posts and handrails with trefoil-pierced plank balusters, which continue round the landing. A secondary staircase leads up to the second floor. The front ground-floor reception rooms have elaborately moulded, deep cornices, ceiling roses and picture rails. The west room has an original, white-painted timber mantelpiece with an arched grate. The rear rooms have simpler cornices. The main first-floor bedrooms have cornices, and a number of original timber and cast-iron mantelpieces remain on the upper floors. There is a large second-floor room with decorative woodwork over the niches to each side of the fireplace with barley-sugar balusters and pierced sunray spandrels. The cellar has a number of rooms with stone-flagged floors and a wine cellar with stone shelving.

History

Chorlton is a suburb on the south side of Manchester which expanded from the late C19 particularly with the building of middle-class housing and subsequently with the growth of housing estates in the interwar period. The Catholic mission began in 1892 when Prior Jerome Vaughan founded St Peter’s Priory in Woodlea House on Edge Lane. In 1897 land was bought on Chequers Road and a new school and chapel dedicated to St Augustine were opened in 1898. A site for a new church was acquired in 1917 by the Rev Joseph Kelly. At this time there was a large house on the site called Cavendish House, which is shown on the historic Ordnance Survey map published in 1894. This house was subsequently to become the presbytery for the church, which was built attached to its east side in place of the service yard and outbuildings. The new church was built on the site in 1926-1927, largely through the generosity of the John Leeming family. It was dedicated to Our Lady and St John, possibly to avoid confusion with other Catholic churches in the area dedicated to St Augustine, or in honour of the benefactor.

The architect for the new church was Harold Greenhalgh and the contractor was George Powis. It was built of brick with terracotta dressings by Bispham Hall Terracotta Co of Wigan. The interior has furnishings including altars, Stations of the Cross, statuary and reredos by the firm of Ferdinand Stuflesser, stained glass by Mayer of Munich, east wall and sanctuary mosaics by Eric Newton of Ludwig Oppenheimer Ltd, and a font by Myeller of Landeck in Austria. The Rev Joseph Kelly said of the furnishings ‘I have been all over Europe and I have chosen the best’.

The church was opened by Bishop Henshaw in June 1927.

Reasons for Listing

The Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady and St John of 1926-1927 by Harold Greenhalgh, and associated late-C19 presbytery, Chorlton-cum-Hardy, are listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* the interior of this otherwise modest church is richly embellished with fixtures and fittings of evident skill and craftsmanship, including intricately carved timber, Gothic, high altar reredos, side chapel reredoses, and Stations of the Cross all by Ferdinand Stuflesser, enriched, timber dados, decorative hammer-beam roof, and stained glass windows by Mayer of Munich;

* the sanctuary and east wall of the nave have an impressive mosaic scheme designed by Eric Newton of Ludwig Oppenheimer Ltd, a specialist mosaic company, which demonstrates a high degree of craftmanship and use of high-quality materials in their construction;

* the earlier presbytery has a grand timber staircase and traceried stair window inserted to give this later-C19 house a more ecclesiastical appearance in keeping with its new role, and also retains many original fixtures and fittings.

Historic interest:

* the high-quality fixtures and fittings were specifically sourced from across Europe by the incumbent priest, and include work by some of the best craftsmen of the day including Ferninand Stuflesser of Italy, Mayer of Munich, Germany, and Myeller of Landeck, Austria.

Group value:

* the presbytery has functional group value with the church.

External Links

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