Description

This list entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 05/05/2020

656-1/41/1583

ST MARK'S ROAD (west side)
St Mark's Community Centre
Former Church of St Mark

(Formerly listed as Widcombe Community Centre, St Mark’s Road, previously Listed as: ST MARK'S ROAD Church of St Mark)

12/06/50

GV II
Former Anglican parish church of St Mark, declared redundant in 1973, reopened as a community centre in 1975. Perpendicular Gothic Revival style. 1830-1832, by G.P. Manners, chancel added 1883 by Thomas Ames of Wilson and Willcox, internal modifications 1975.

MATERIALS: limestone ashlar, slate roofs.

EXTERIOR: five-bay aisled nave with pinnacle-capped buttresses; four-stage tower with diagonal buttresses, crocketed finials and cusped openwork parapet, arched and slatted belfry openings to each face of upper stage, three-light west window to ringing chamber over entrance with part-glazed west doors within drip-mould, tower flanked by porches either side with smaller arched windows; east end with added polygonal chancel extension flanked by vestry to north and former organ loft to south. North and south sides have five three-light windows with drip-moulds, divided by buttresses with three offsets, angle buttresses to each end, carried through as square crocketted pinnacles above plain balustrade and cornice mould. On south side, to left, plank doors to entrance lobby. High coped gables, with two-light aisle window each side east and west ends, and finial with cross to east. North side has flight of steps to former boiler house, with small flue to main east gable. Narrow chancel has five tall two-light Decorated lights with drip-moulds, to deep sill band, under cornice and blocking course. Small metal ridge ventilator. High plinth with double offset continues all round exterior.

INTERIOR: highly characteristic late Georgian Gothic interior with slender piers. Five-bay nave with piers (without capitals) carrying four-centred arched braces to shallowly pitched ceiling; flat ceiling to aisles also with bracing. West arch to tower now glazed. Chancel arch is characteristically Victorian, representing the later fulfilment of the Gothic Revival: moulded chancel arch with ball-flower decoration carried on triple shafts above corbel-heads. Chancel reached via two marble steps: now enclosed to form extra rooms. Open cusped arch-braced roof in pine with boarding to ceiling. Formerly with galleries to three sides, now removed except at west end. Cast iron roof trusses in simple design with open spandrel, and with large pierced ridge ventilators to each truss in low pitched ceiling. Aisle roofs flat, also with cast iron trusses. Plain plastered walls, and original board floors. At west end, lobbies with broad timber geometrical stairs to galleries, and central lobby beneath tower with cusped triple arched stone inner entrance. Former sanctuary retains gabled and cusped stone reredos, and 1932 stained glass central window. Fittings have generally been removed, but stone pulpit remains in-situ. Internally sub-divided with aisles partitioned but essentially intact.

HISTORY: the last of the group of three Commissioners' Churches to be built in Bath, it was established with a grant of 1824 to serve the expanding suburb of Lyncombe. Consecrated in 1832, it cost £10,427 and provided 631 reserved seats and 551 free seats in pews. Chancel added in 1883, at which time the galleries were replaced with lighter versions and the pews replaced with open benches. Declared redundant in 1973, a slate tablet on pier within records its re-opening as a Community Centre on June 30th 1975, by Cicely Edmunds (then Mayoress of Bath), who was largely instrumental in seeing conversion brought to fruition.

Listing NGR: ST7514564219

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26673914

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

• 
  Old House Care and Repair
• 
  Bristol (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)
• 
  Period property manual, victorian house manual 2 books collection set by ian rock
• 
  Hertfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Pevsner's Architectural Glossary (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  Sussex: West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)