Roman Catholic Church of the Annunciation, attached presbytery and former school

Summary

A Catholic church, begun in 1852 to the designs of Joseph Hansom, altered and substantially enlarged in the late-C19, with C20 and C21 reordering and refurbishment. Attached presbytery and former school of 1866 and 1868 by Samuel Rollinson.

Reasons for Designation

The Roman Catholic Church of the Annunciation, begun in 1852 to the designs of Joseph Hansom, and attached presbytery and former school of 1866 and 1868 by Samuel Rollinson are listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* for the high quality design of Hansom's church, which forms a landmark presence in the streetscape;
* for the quality of the church's interior and fixtures and fittings;
* for the quality of Rollinson's presbytery and school, which enhance the composition.

Historic interest:

* as an example of a mid-C19 Roman Catholic church with attached presbytery and school.

History

Until the mid-C19 Catholics in Chesterfield attended services at the chapel at Wingerworth Hall or met at rooms in the Chesterfield suburb of Birdholme. In 1851, the Revd Thomas Hill led a mission to Chesterfield from Spinkhill, where the church of the Immaculate Conception had been founded in 1844-1846 by the Society of Jesus, commonly known as the Jesuits. Joseph Aloysius Hansom, architect of the Immaculate Conception and designer of several other churches for the Jesuits, was asked to draw up plans for a church on Spencer Street, near the centre of Chesterfield. The foundation stone was laid in 1852 and the building was opened in 1854. The chancel was consecrated in 1856.

By 1873 the local Catholic population had increased greatly, partly as a result of the growth of local industry. Hansom was re-engaged to enlarge the church to twice the size. He added the Lady Chapel and south aisle in 1874, and the broad west end tower, or ‘westwork’, where a spire may have been intended, was completed in 1874-1877. The organ, installed in 1881, was built by Henry Willis Senior, ‘Father Willis’, of Henry Willis and Sons. William Arkwright of Sutton Scarsdale Hall donated the east window in 1884 and further furnishings, vestments and a statue in 1889. A new pulpit was added in 1887. The altar, installed in the late-C19, is attributed to Sebastian Pugin Powell, grandson of Gothic Revival architect, AWN Pugin. Various stained-glass windows were installed, mainly by the Hardman firm, during the late-C19 and early-C20. A war memorial taking the form of a crucifix was unveiled in 1919. Late-C20 reordering involved the replacement of the sanctuary furnishings and alterations to the Lady Chapel.

In the early to mid-C20 the administration of the parish was handed over by the Jesuits to the Diocese of Nottingham. In 1980, Chesterfield and other parts of north Derbyshire became part of the newly created Diocese of Hallam. December 2017 saw the completion of the church’s most recent scheme of refurbishment.

The attached presbytery and former school were designed by the Chesterfield architect Samuel Rollinson and built in 1866 and 1868-1870 respectively. Rollinson was a prominent local figure who designed many schools and Anglican churches in northeast Derbyshire, including All Saints’ School and School House at Youlgreave (1866-1868, listed Grade II). The school was extended around the mid-C20 when it was known as St Marys Roman Catholic Secondary School. The presbytery was also remodelled around the end of the C20. By the early-C21 the school had become a parish centre.

Details

A Catholic church, begun in 1852 to the designs of Joseph Hansom, altered and substantially enlarged in the late-C19, with C20 and C21 reordering and refurbishment. Attached Presbytery and former School of 1866 and 1868 by Samuel Rollinson.

MATERIALS: the church, presbytery and parish centre are constructed of coursed, buff rubble stone with ashlar quoins and window dressings, beneath slate roofs. The rear ranges of the presbytery and parish centre are built of red brick.

PLAN: the church has a rectangular plan orientated on a roughly north-south axis. The church is comprised of a tower above a narthex to the south end, a central nave, with aisles to either side, and a sacristy, chancel, and lady chapel to the northern end. The presbytery adjoins the church at its northernmost corner and has a roughly square footprint with short, projecting ranges to the east and west sides. The parish centre projects to the west of the church. The two-storey ranges form a T-shaped plan and a square, single-storey range infills the west corner.

CHURCH

EXTERIOR: the church is comprised of a broad rectangular south tower, with a nave and chancel projecting north in three descending stages, and aisles to east and west sides. The tower has a hipped, slate roof and a hexagonal corner turret to the east, with a short spire and five levels of slit windows to its south face. Above the upper string course of the tower is a band of Gothic windows. The first floor of the south side of the tower features a large pointed arched window with geometric tracery flanked by buttresses. To the ground floor are a pair of lancet windows, with single lancets to either side. Either side of the tower are two gabled porches featuring gothic arch doorways with stepped reveals. Doors are planked timber with decorative strapwork. There are arched two light windows above each doorway and on the south sides of both porches.

The nave features a partial apse, extended to the north with a lower level pitched roof. Below the apsidal roof are a row of quatrefoil clerestory windows. The storey below projects forward below a lean-to roof and features two tripartite windows with decorated tracery either side of a central buttress. The aisle is expressed externally as a row of four transverse gabled bays with two-light windows, the southernmost slightly larger than the rest with a tripartite window, all featuring decorated tracery. The Lady Chapel is articulated with a row of six lancet windows, the second and fifth blind, separated by moulded column jambs.

INTERIOR: to the south end of the church is a narthex featuring marble-like columns and a scheme of stained-glass dating to around 2000, made to the designs of Michael Murphy. The glazed timber screens appear to be C20. Above this, the west gallery houses the organ by Henry Willis Senior with two sets of organ pipes flanking the south window.

The colonnaded aisles curve into the centre of the nave, straightening out again towards the chancel. The timbered ceiling features trusses springing from clerestory height. Within the nave is a carved stone font and richly coloured marble statuary, including a canopy thought to have been part of the late C19 high altar, attributed to Sebastien Pugin Powell. The church’s statuary includes a figure of St Patrick by AB Wall of Cheltenham (1889), a Sacred Heart by Mayer of Munich, a white marble Pietà after Michelangelo and a marble statue of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. The mosaic Stations of the Cross, possibly date to 1921 by the Benedict Ecclesiastical Art Company, which supplied the war memorial. Several late-C19 and early-C20 stained-glass windows attributed to Hardman. The intricately carved reredos features statues set beneath ornate guided canopies. A double colonnade separates the sanctuary from the Lady Chapel, which features decorative brass and ironwork altar rails. There are painted images and motifs to the ceilings of both the sanctuary and Lady Chapel, and above the chancel arch.

PRESBYTERY

EXTERIOR: the principal frontage of the presbytery faces east. It features a central gabled porch above an arched timber, part-glazed door. The porch abuts a slightly projecting rectangular range which features a corner window set within a niche. This is supported by a slender stone column with an ornately carved capital. The two sets of ground floor windows are grouped in threes, with plain sashes within quoined stone surrounds. There are two pairs of sash windows to the first floor above the string course, both beneath gabled dormers, and a single sash window above the porch. There is a stone stack within the south-east slope of the roof. The red-brick west elevation has two gables and features ashlar quoins and window surrounds. There is a single-storey canted bay to the north.

INTERIOR: no features of interest were observed.

FORMER SCHOOL

EXTERIOR: the principal elevation of the parish centre school faces south and features a half-hipped gable and stair tower with pyramidal roof and dentil eaves course. The ground floor features an entrance door with quatrefoil top lights. Above this is a decoratively carved stone plaque. There are four, four-over-four, ground-floor sash windows set within stone surrounds. The first-floor windows are set within the gable. The upper two have arched heads and above these are two trefoil lights. The lower central windows have decoratively carved heads, with two narrow windows to either side. The string courses and lancet windows to the upper storey of the stair tower are staggered. The west side of the south elevation is constructed of coursed rubble stone to the ground floor with a rendered first floor. The two-storey red brick range to the north features four-over-four sashes beneath segmental brick heads. There is a C20 single-storey brick range to the west beneath a shallow pitched roof (not included in the List entry).

INTERIOR: within the original range the ground-floor ceiling is supported by timber brackets supported on corbels. The staircase has stone steps and a metal handrail.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

83478

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Hartwell, Clare, Pevsner, Nikolaus, Williamson, Elizabeth, The Buildings of England: Derbyshire, (2016), p257

Websites
Taking Stock report for Chesterfield - The Annunciation, accessed 06 February 2023 from https://taking-stock.org.uk/building/chesterfield-the-annunciation/

End of official list entry

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