Description

SUNDERLAND

NZ3857 PAXTON TERRACE
920-1/10/171 (North side)
Church of St Joseph

II

Roman Catholic parish church. 1906-7. By the parish priest, Fr
Rogers, with Thomas Axtell. Moulded concrete blocks made on
site; Welsh slate roof with gable copings and terracotta ridge
cresting. Romanesque basilica style. Aisled continuous nave
and chancel with nave and aisle apses; W aisled porch.
EXTERIOR: round-headed windows with sloping sills, 5 in
panelled E apse and 3 in E aisle apses under half-conical
roofs, paired in aisles and clerestory under dripstring in 7
panelled bays. W porch has similar windows, paired in aisle
panels and single flanking central high round-headed door.
Door surround of triple roll moulding under chamfered arch on
pilasters with moulded imposts and drip string. Large rose
window over door has moulded surround; statues on brackets in
round-headed niches with dripmoulds flank door arch. Lombard
friezes to all gables, which have copings on moulded kneelers.
Pent aisle roofs; decorative ridge cresting with cross finials
to nave and chancel.
INTERIOR of painted blocks shows 7-bay arcade with painted
round piers except for east pair, of dark red granite, with
crocket capitals and chamfered round arches with dripstring.
High chancel and W arches on cross walls, with W choir
gallery. Big moulded corbels support king post roof with
arch-braced collars. Sill string to clerestory. S chancel
chapel has stained glass Annunciation by Atkinson Bros,
Newcastle; aisle windows have round panels showing saints, set
in tinted diagonal quarries; tinted glass in clerestory leaded
lights. Alabaster octagonal font with shafts. Foundation stone
in W porch dated 23 July 1906.
An early example of the use of moulded concrete blocks, with
additional historical interest of design by parish priest with
advice from Axtell, an engineer, who supervised the
construction. Blocks said to have been made by the men of the
parish.
(Corfe T and Milburn G: Buildings and Beliefs: Sunderland:
1984-: 31).

Listing NGR: NZ3805057106

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26502284

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.

Recommended Books

• 
  London 4: North: North v. 4 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Huddersfield in 50 Buildings
• 
  The green guide for historic buildings: how to improve the environmental performance of listed and historic buildings
• 
  Liverpool: Pevsner City Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)
• 
  Somerset: North and Bristol: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  For the Record