Description

PRINCETHORPE SP37SE 4/38 Princethorpe College, Church of Our Lady and All Angels

GV II*

Shown on Ordnance Survey map as St. Mary Priory. Church, built as convent chapel. 1897-1901 by Peter Paul Pugin at the expense of Hilda de Trafford. English bond bright red brick with moulded cornice and moulded stone plinth and dressings. Slate roofs have ridge cresting and stone coped gabel parapets with goblet kneelers. Nave, transepts, polygonal apsidal chancel and ambulatory, south range, and linked detached south-west tower. Gothic Revival Decorated style with curvilinear tracery. Tall 4-bay nave, 2-bay crossing, 3-bay chancel. East end has nine 2-light windows with continuous hood moulds. Wrought iron cross finial, low irregular single-storey range around chancel links church to the former convent buildings. South range has large 5-light window with hood mould. Gable has small openwork stone panel, and decorated stone cross finial. Transept is much higher. Two large 2-light windows flank elaborate canopied image niche and statue. Rose window above of 4 quatrefoiled roundels. Gable apex of stone, with small opening. West side has two 2-light windows. Low single-storey 4-bay range across transept and eastern part of nave and 2-bay range across nave to tower have moulded parapets. Transept range has Tudor-arched doorway with carved spandrels and plank door to second bay. Straight-headed 2-light window to left and 3-light windows to right. Nave range has segmental-arched 4-light windows. These and other minor windows throughout have trefoiled round-arched lights. Nave has angle and side buttresses of 2 offsets. North and south sides have paired 2-light clerestory windows with continuous hood moulds to each bay. West front has large 5-light window with hood mould and head stops. Segmental-arched 3-light windows below flank image niche and statue. Sable apex of stone has blind tracery. Cross finial. Low single-storey link to tower has parapet. One- and 3-light straight-headed windows. Low lean-to north range has moulded west doorway with segmental-pointed outer arch and hood mould with head stops, and double-leaf doors. North side has 3 bays of segmental-arched 3-light windows. North transept has west projection. Tudor-arched 4-light window has transom and tracery and hood mould. North side has image niche and tracery. Large tower of 3 stages and 5 storeys is almost entirely detached. Angle buttresses with weatherings become octagonal clasping buttresses to third stage. Octagonal stair turret to south-east corner. To each side first stage has segmental-arched 3-light window With round relieving arch and sill course continued across buttresses. Second stage of 2 storeys. Lower storey has 2 trefoiled lancets with hood moulds. Upper storey has trefoiled ogee lancets with straight heads and carved spandrels, flanking canopied image niche with statue. Above is a stone band of 6 bays of blind arcading, with ogee arches and carved capitals, and 3 narrow lancets. Third stage has very large 3-light bell openings with mullions and transom to lower part, elaborate tracery, and hood moulds with head stops. Elaborate stone openwork parapet and balustrade. Canted sides of buttresses have canopied image niches and statues corbelled out. Turret has attached shafts and string courses to top part. Turret and buttresses have stone spirelets. Lavish interior is plastered. Panelled barrel roofs throughout have moulded wood arched braces and ribs, wallposts and stone corbels carved with angels. Chancel has attached shafts and radiating rib roof over apse. 9 moulded arches to ambulatory have composite piers. Nave and chancel arches of 2 moulded orders have inner shafts with foliage capitals and continuous outer order. Moulded transept arches have stone screens of 2 segmental arches with foliage ornament and openwork balustrade. Nave has west gallery with stone openwork balustrade. Fittings: very large lavish painted and gilt Gothic ciborium altar. The carved white marble altar, standing on black marble steps, is said to have been made in Rome. Ambulatory has 3 carved Gothic altars and reredoses of stone, stone and wood, and wood respectively. Elaborate wrought iron screens and gates to ambulatory and rood screen with Crucifixion. North chapel has elaborate carved and painted reredos. Nave has elaborate Gothic wood panelling and misericords. Panelling below gallery has 2 canopied seats flanking image niche and statue. Complete set of original stained glass. The convent was built for French Benedictine nuns and was known as St. Mary Priory. (V.C.H.: Warwickshire, Vol.VI, p.245; Buildings of England: Warwickshire, pp.376-377; Kelly's Directory of Warwickshire, 1894, pp.167-168).

Listing NGR: SP3946871011

External Links

• Princethorpe College at Wikipedia
• Princethorpe College official website
• Wikidata IDs Q17550796 Q7244919

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.

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