Description

BARROW IN FURNESS

SD26NW SCHOOL STREET
708-1/6/132 (North East side)
06/05/76 Presbyterian Church

II

A two-storey Presbyterian Church built in the Romanesque style between 1873-75 to a design by E.G. Paley and H.J. Austin.

MATERIALS: Rock-faced limestone with red sandstone dressings beneath fire-damaged graduated slate roofs.

PLAN: The church is sub-rectangular in plan with a rear apse.

EXTERIOR: The main front W façade is of 5 bays and contains a square tower set forward on the left and an apsidal projection set back against the right return. There is a central doorway with a quoined surround with flanking shafts and a segmental head beneath a round-arched tympanum with a hoodmould. To either side of the doorway there are round-arched windows linked by an impost band and hoodmoulds. There is a tall buttress on the right at the junction of the apsidal projection. There are matching round-arched doorways to bays 1 and 5. There is a 1st floor band then a moulded sill band to 2 pairs of windows with shafts and hoodmoulds. The square tower and apsidal projection have single-light windows. The gable has an octafoil rose window, ashlar banding and copings. The square tower terminates in a shallow pyramidal roof. Roofs to the apsidal projection and the main body of the church are fire damaged. N and S facades have 6:1 bays with 1-light windows to the ground floor and paired windows above. Steps lead to a square-headed doorway at the north east corner. The rear apse has 1-light windows to both floors beneath a conical roof. There is a 3-flue stack to the main gable.

INTERIOR: Severely fire-damaged. There is a U-shaped gallery on ribbed cast iron columns with remains of a staircase at the W end. The sides of the gallery have wooden arcading. Some arch-braced tie-beam trusses survive.

HISTORY: The Presbyterian Church was built between 1873-75 to a design by the architects E.G. Paley & H.J. Austin. The building ceased to function as a church in the late C20 and was subsequently used as a warehouse for storage purposes. In 2005 a serious fire damaged the building's interior leading to substantial internal damage, the loss of decorative finishes and much of the roof covering.
SOURCES: Listed building description: School Street (North East Side) Presbyterian Church. SD26NW. 708-1/6/132. 06/05/76.
Building Plans register: 1873-: No.535.

SUMMARY OF IMPORTANCE: A Victorian church built between 1873-75 to a design by the eminent church architects E.G. Paley and H.J. Austin. Constructed in the Romanesque style, this handsome and imposing church provides a striking focus within its residential setting, and demonstrates a high quality of design and workmanship. Despite a fire in 2005 which damaged the structure's interior, the building's exterior remains remarkably undamaged.

Listing NGR: SD2011369221

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Trinity Church at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q7842653

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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