corinne mills

@sangallo wrote:

I have already posted some information about All Saints Church, Barton-upon-Irwell, on the “reordering and destruction” thread. Here is some more information from English heritage on this great E.W. Pugin church, which is on the Grade I heritage list.

Roman Catholic church. 1867-8. By E. W. Pugin. Rock-faced stone with slate roof. Nave, aisles, west bell turret, apsidal chancel with north chapel. Gothic Revival. 8-bay nave and aisles with weathered plinth, weathered buttresses and gabled porch. Each bay has a 2-light plate tracery aisle window with hoodmoulds and sill band and 2-light Geometrical tracery clerestory windows with continuous hoodmould. Steep roof with coped gables and pierced ridge tiles. West rose window above arcade of pointed lights and arched doorway all flanked by bold weathered and gableted buttresses. 4-bay polygonal chancel with 2-light plate tracery windows in each bay below a series of coped gables. Grotesque gargoyles. The 3 x 1 bay side chapel has a steep hipped roof and similar gables above each bay which interrupt a parapet with pierced quatrefoils. Interior: arcade arches, piers and chancel arches all in banded pink and yellow stone. Well carved foliage capitals. Lofty scissor-braced roof structure springing from angel corbels. Rib-vaulted chancel lavishly gilded. Elaborately carved stone altar and reredos. Good wall paintings, one showing E. W. Pugin with a plan of the church. Timber pews. Stained glass. A notably complete and unspoiled example of E. W. Pugin’s work, said to be his best.

I don’t know if All Saints’ is E. W. Pugin’s best work – I am inclined to think it is St Colman’s Cathedral, Cobh – but it certainly ranks well up there with Dadizele Basilica and Gorton Monastery. But readers of this posting may have different opinions on this.

Unfortunately, I have not yet been able to find a photo of the interior, but here is another photograph of the exterior:

You may be interested in this old postcard of the interior of the Irwell church