1865 – Entrant in Ryde Church Competition

“Our one page interior view is an accurate and faithful rendering of a design that bore unmistakable evidence of high artistic ability, though, we would say, rather misdirected for a parish church. Incomparably the most effectively tinted monochrome drawing exhibited in the competition, there are some good features in Mr. Conybeare’s design that cannot be overlooked, in spite of the particular type of Romanesque he has adopted. It is a style indeed that deserves development, as suggestive of noble treatment. The nave and tower piers are simple and effective, and so are the clerestory and triforia. The proportions throughout, the management of the central lantern, with its cellular groining, the apse, with the lateral arrangement of baptistery and choir, are highly pleasing, but the design we think rather too pretentious for the purpose and outlay contemplated.”
The Building News, June 5 1865