Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady of Good Counsel and St Gregory the Great, Smethwick, Sandwell

Summary

A Roman Catholic parish church, 1933-4. Designed by Philip Chatwin in the neo-Georgian style and built by Maddox & Walford of Gravelly Hill. Not including in the listing are the late C20 link building between the sacristry and the presbytery, the presbytery, and the boundary wall, railings and gates to the west end of the church.

Description

A Roman Catholic parish church, 1933-4. Designed by Philip Chatwin in the neo-Georgian style and built by Maddox & Walford of Gravelly Hill.

MATERIALS: steel framed and faced in red brick laid in Flemish bond, with brick and stone dressings. The roofs are covered in double Roman tiles and the windows are metal framed.

PLAN: the building has its ritual east end at the northern end of the church, but the ritual compass points are used throughout the description. The nave and sanctuary are under a single roof, and at the west end is a narthex with organ gallery above. To the south side of the church is a tower, Lady Chapel, and sacristry.

EXTERIOR: the west elevation is of three bays with raised brick quoins to the corners. The quoins are repeated to the set-forward central bay. The recessed, central entrance is flanked by three single-light, stained glass windows. Above the entrance is a niche containing a stone statue of St Gregory the Great. The niche is framed by a stone aedicule with a segmental pediment. Beneath is an octagonal opus sectile panel depicting the papal arms. To the flanking bays are 24-light windows. The pedimented gable has an oculus to the tympanum. Attached to the right is a double-height lean-to, with an additional west entrance. Above the doorway is a further opus sectile panel depicting the Virgin and Child. The lean-to continues across the south elevation and wraps around the square tower with pyramidal roof. To each of the tower’s four sides is a round-arched belfry opening with keystone. To the south face of the lean-to is a brick flue which serves the boiler house at the base of the tower. To the right is a single-storey lean-to with central door flanked by glazed panels. Attached to the right is the single-storey Lady’s Chapel, with pitched roof. There is a further lean-to at the right-hand end housing the sacristry. The side elevations of the church are of seven bays, articulated by brick pilasters in the position of the steel stanchions; these are mostly overlaid on the south side by the tower, chapel and lean-tos. The north elevation has a shallow projection in the fourth bay from the west, which is for an internal shrine, and incorporates the foundation stone at its centre. The window surrounds are of rubbed brick.

INTERIOR: the shallow barrel-vaulted ceiling extends over the nave and sanctuary and has plastered transverse ribs. The narthex with organ gallery above is at the west end, and has an oak panelled front supported on oak panelled piers with wrought iron grilles and doors in between. The nave consists of six bays, including the narthex, and is articulated by plaster Doric pilasters sitting on dado-height oak panelling. To the pilasters are fixed wooden carvings of the Stations of the Cross. The clerestory window to each bay is of 24-lights with coloured glass, and has a cornice and cill both supported on brackets. In the fourth bay of the nave (north side) is an oak and gilded shrine to the Sacred Heart set within a richly carved open-pedimented surround. To the north-east corner of the nave is an oak panelled pulpit. Double pilasters to each side of the nave mark the entrance to the chancel, which has a balustraded oak communion rail with metal gates. The vaulted ceiling to the chancel is coffered and has rosettes, and the floor is wood block and marble. The marble font has been moved from the narthex, where it was located beneath a stained glass window depicting the Baptism of Our Lord, to the sanctuary. At the east end is a panelled oak reredos with Corinthian pilasters, and an elaborate oak baldachino, supported on Corinthian columns, all with gilded detail and surmounted on a black and grey marble base. The marble altar has been moved forward. To the south wall of the sanctuary is a marble piscina, and a door to the sacristry. The two-room sacristry has a wood block floor, and a modern roof-light has been inserted. To the south side of the nave is the south porch with a confessional to the left of the lobby, the Lady Chapel, and a further confessional. The square openings to the three-bay Lady Chapel on the south side of the nave have modern glazing. The Lady Chapel has a shallow barrel-vaulted ceiling, and oak panelling to the walls. The pilasters are of oak. To the east end is the green and white marble alter with an oak and glazed tabernacle set into the wall above. To the south wall is a marble piscina and an oak aedicule containing a statue of St Joseph and Child. At the west end is a door to the confessional beyond. The stained glass windows, which are confined to the Lady Chapel and the narthex, are by Hardman & Co, and are more recent in date than the church; one window in the chapel is dated 1960. The nave and the Lady Chapel have a wood block floor. In the narthex and west porch are marble holy water stoups and the floor is tiled. The panelled oak doors survive throughout.

Pursuant to s.1 (5A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (‘the Act’) it is declared that the C20 link building connecting the sacristry to the presbytery, the presbytery, and the boundary walls, railings and gates to the west end of the church, are not of special architectural or historic interest and are not included in the listing.

History

From 1899 Mass was said in a former coach house behind properties fronting Three Shires Oak Road in Bearwood. In 1909 Bearwood became an independent mission and the Galton family gave some land for the building of a permanent Catholic church. However, following a dispute, Major Hubert Galton withdrew his support and instead funded the building of the nearby Church of Our Lady and St Hubert, in Warley.

The church and the presbytery at Bearwood were designed by Philip Chatwin. Chatwin was from a notable local firm of, mainly Anglican, church builders, and his brother, the Reverend Geoffrey Chatwin, was the parish priest and rector at Bearwood. The builders were Maddox & Walford of Gravelly Hill. The foundation stone was laid on 3 May 1933 by Archbishop Thomas Williams, and the church opened in 1934. It seated 350 and cost £8,300 (excluding the marble high altar). An account in the parish file in the Diocesan Archives, probably written by the architect, described the design as ‘an adaptation of the kind of work common in the reign of Queen Anne’.

Reasons for Listing

The Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady of Good Counsel and St Gregory the Great, designed by Philip Chatwin and built in 1933-4, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

* Architectural interest: a dignified and accomplished design in the neo-Georgian style with good detailing, and by a significant regional architect;
* Interior: the internal space is well-composed with good massing and sophistication in the quality of its detailing;
* Degree of survival: the church remains little altered since its completion and the reordering, which is minimal, does not detract from the overall interest;
* Fixtures and fittings: the contemporary fixtures and fittings are of high quality in their design and execution, and together form a complete suite of furnishings.

External Links

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