Church of Our Lady & St Alphege, Bath

The Church of Our Lady & St Alphege is a Roman Catholic church located in the Oldfield Park suburb of Bath, Somerset. The church was built between 1927 and 1929 to the designs of Sir Giles Gilbert Scott,[2] the architect of Liverpool Cathedral. The church is modelled on the Early Christian basilica of Santa Maria[2] in Cosmedin, Rome. It is a Grade II* listed building.[3]

Church of Our Lady & St Alphege
The church in the background, with the church hall to the fore
Church of Our Lady & St Alphege is located in Somerset
Church of Our Lady & St Alphege
Church of Our Lady & St Alphege
Church of Our Lady & St Alphege is located in England
Church of Our Lady & St Alphege
Church of Our Lady & St Alphege
51°22′24″N 2°22′35″W / 51.3734°N 2.3763°W / 51.3734; -2.3763
LocationCity of Bath, Somerset
CountryEngland
DenominationRoman Catholic
Websitewww.saintalphege.org.uk/index.html Edit this at Wikidata
History
Consecrated1954
Architecture
Heritage designationGrade II*
Architect(s)Giles Gilbert Scott
StyleRomanesque
Years built1927-29
Administration
ProvinceProvince of Birmingham
DioceseDiocese of Clifton
DeanerySt Oliver Plunkett[1]
Clergy
Priest(s)The Reverend Malcolm Smeaton
Listed Building – Grade II*
Official nameChurch of Our Lady and St Alphege, with attached presbytery
Designated4 August 1975
Reference no.1396234
The loggia

The exterior is Romanesque, of Bath Stone rubble.[3] A three-arched loggia with Byzantine columns and capitals[2] surrounds it. The red roof tiles were imported from Lombardy.[3] The full-height campanile intended by Scott was not built, due to fears over the strength of the foundations.[2]

The interior columns have capitals with figurative carvings by William Drinkwater Gough. Those on the columns on the north side depict scenes from the life of the Virgin Mary, those on the columns on the south, scenes from the life of St Alphege and those supporting the choir and organ loft on the west end show persons associated with the church, including Scott himself.[4]

Scott wrote of the church, "It has always been one of my favourite works."[2] Relatively unknown since its construction, the church was overlooked by Sir Nikolaus Pevsner in his 1958 North Somerset and Bristol edition of The Buildings of England.[4] Its importance as an "accomplished composition by (a) nationally-renowned architect"[3] was recognised in 2010 when its listed building status was upgraded to Grade II*.[3] Michael Forsyth in the Pevsner Architectural Guide to Bath describes it as a building that "cannot fail to astonish and delight."[2]

Notes

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  1. ^ "Parishes". Clifton Diocese. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Forsyth 2007, p. 291
  3. ^ a b c d e Historic England. "Church of Our Lady and St Alphege (Grade II*) (1396234)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  4. ^ a b "St Alphege's Church, Bath - A Favourite Building of Giles Gilbert Scott". Saintalphege.org.uk. Archived from the original on 26 February 2012. Retrieved 25 March 2012.

References

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  Media related to Church of Our Lady & St Alphege, Bath at Wikimedia Commons