Roman Catholic Church of St Francis Xavier

Summary

A Roman Catholic Church of 1837-1839 by Charles Day.

Reasons for Designation

The Roman Catholic Church of St Francis Xavier, constructed 1837-1839 to the designs of Charles Day, is listed at Grade II* for the following principal reasons:

Architectural Interest:

* the church is a well-executed, mid-C19 Roman Catholic church in the Greek Revival style designed by Charles Day;

* bold and confident in its design, the church has a striking Doric portico in ochre stucco render facing onto Broad Street;

* the church retains many of its mid-C19 fittings including its marble altar with gilded tabernacle, Stations of the Cross and gothic font.

Historic Interest:

* the church is the successor to another church in this location, which was licensed for worship in October 1791, immediately after the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1791 permitting the observance of Catholicism;

* the church contains the hand of St John Kemble preserved as a relic, one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales who was hanged at Widemarsh Common in 1679.

History

The Roman Catholic Church of St Francis Xavier was constructed in 1837-1839 to the designs of Charles Day, county surveyor of Worcestershire. The church was dedicated to the Jesuit missionary St Francis Xavier and its design is loosely based on the Athenian Treasury at Delphi in Greece. The present building replaced an earlier church at this location on Broad Street which was licensed in October 1791 ‘as a public chapel or place of worship for the exercise of the Popish religion’, immediately after the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1791. The foundation stone was laid in September of 1837 with the church eventually opening in August of 1839.

In the early C20 a parish hall was added to the south of the church with the parcel of land previously occupied by the general post office. The church’s 1850 organ was removed and replaced with a digital one in the 1980s. By 1995 the condition of the church had deteriorated and proposals for a replacement building on an alternative site were considered. A group of parishioners formed the ‘Friends of St Francis Xavier’ and successfully campaigned to save the church, with grants and fundraising enabling the repair and internal redecoration of the building. The restored church was opened again in December 2003.

Details

A Roman Catholic Church of 1837-1839 by Charles Day.

MATERIALS: constructed of brick with a painted stucco render under a hipped slate roof.

PLAN: the building has a linear plan and is orientated roughly west to east.

EXTERIOR: the church is Greek Revival in style and the principal façade faces west onto Broad Street. The stucco render of the building is ochre in colour with the west façade having a tall Greek Doric portico with fluted columns and piers flanking central entrance steps. The piers support a triglyph entablature and a shallow moulded pediment above topped with a gilded cross. The nave of the church is set back from the portico with the entablature carrying around the perimeter of the building. The north elevation features a number of blind window openings and at its east end is attached to a single-storey building linking the presbytery to the church, containing the sacristy. This building has a triangular brick parapet and contains three openings under brick flat arches. The central opening contains an eight-over-eight sash with two small, two-over-two sashes to either side.

INTERIOR: the entrance steps lead to a pair of tall panelled doors beyond which is a vestibule with modern glazed doors. The vestibule contains a stair to the north and south, both leading to a first-floor gallery. The spiral stairs each have a slim, sweeping rail and stick balusters, with the gallery containing the church’s late-C20 organ. The gallery contains two pairs of simple panelled pews. The nave of the church is a tall, lofty space with coffered, barrel-vaulted ceiling containing a skylight over the sanctuary. The walls feature pilasters painted in a marble effect and capitals with egg and dart detail. Above is a modillion cornice which continues around the perimeter of the church. Around the nave are the Stations of the Cross, which are high relief sculptures in stucco under Romanesque arches. The nave contains oak pews with panelled backs and scrolled ends. The altar at the east end of the nave takes the form of a central gilded tabernacle with dome supported by a pillared drum. The altar is accessed via stone steps and has a modern altar rail, the tabernacle stands on a marble altar table and is flanked by two Ionic columns. Directly to the south of the altar is the marble Lady altar of 1920 with a recessed niche above with glazing and miniature Ionic columns containing the relic of St John Kemble, one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales who was hanged at Widemarsh Common in 1679. Above the relic is a painted fresco of the Virgin Mary with a corresponding painting to the north of the main altar depicting St Francis Xavier.

At the west end of the building is the church’s gothic font with gilded trefoil detail and grotesques. The font was relocated from the church of St Denis in Harewood and was originally situated in Chardstock in Dorset. Affixed to the wall above is the parish war memorial listing those who gave their lives during both the First and Second World Wars.

To the south of the altar, a door with console brackets supporting a moulded canopy leads directly into the adjacent parish hall to the south. The hall has a stone moulded fireplace on the south wall and kitchen facilities to the north.

To the north of the altar, through a door matching the one on the south wall, is the sacristy connecting the church with the Presbytery to the north (Grade II). The ground floor sacristy contains two adjoining rooms, each with a number of built in cupboards. The small room to the east has a fireplace with simple surround and cast-iron grate. The room to the west, which directly adjoins the nave of the church, has a small stone and marble piscina on the south wall with carved oak surround.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

372245

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Colvin, H, A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects 1600-1840, (2008), 304

Websites
Hereford- St Francis Xavier, accessed 9 August 2023 from https://taking-stock.org.uk/building/hereford-st-francis-xavier/
'History of St Francis Xavier's Church', accessed 9 August 2023 from https://www.sfxhereford.org.uk/history

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