Sacred Heart Church is a Roman Catholic church in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, on Talbot Road close to the town centre. It was the first Roman Catholic church built in Blackpool and has been designated a Grade II* listed building by English Heritage.
| Sacred Heart Church | |
|---|---|
| Church of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary[1] | |
 Sacred Heart Church, from Talbot Road | |
  Sacred Heart Church Location in Blackpool | |
| 53°49′10″N 3°03′13″W / 53.8195°N 3.0537°W | |
| OS grid reference | SD 3072636433 |
| Location | Blackpool, Lancashire |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | Grade II* |
| Designated | 20 October 1983 |
| Architect(s) | E. W. Pugin |
| Style | English Gothic |
| Completed | 1857 |
| Administration | |
| Province | Liverpool |
| Diocese | Lancaster |
History
editSacred Heart Church was founded by the Jesuits as the town's first Roman Catholic church.[1][2] It was built in 1857 to a design by Edward Welby Pugin.[3] The church was enlarged, to the east, in 1894, to a design by Pugin & Pugin.[2] It was designated as a Grade II* listed building by English Heritage on 20 October 1983.[4][3] The Grade II* listing is for "particularly important buildings of more than special interest".[5] Since 2004, it has been served by priests from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lancaster. The parish priest is Canon Robert Dewhurst.[6]
Architecture
editThe church is constructed of stone, with slate roofs, in the English Gothic style.[3] Its plan consists of a four-bay nave with an octagonal crossing, around which the aisles and transepts lie.[2][3] The lead roof over the crossing is pyramidal and has an octagonal wooden lantern with side tracery. The lantern itself has a pyramidal roof of copper.[2][3] The church tower is to the west; it has four stages with angled buttresses and corner pinnacles, and buttressed aisles with clerestories.[2][3] There are three-light windows in the aisles and four-light windows in the nave transepts. Stained glass in the nave windows was designed by Frances Barnett of Leith.[2] The windows of the 1894 extension are larger than elsewhere and have reticulated tracery. The large east window has stained glass, possibly by William Wailes.[2]
The nave arcades are supported by clustered marble piers with foliated tops and moulded lancet arches.[2][3] There is a two-bay gallery to the west.[2] The chancel is flanked by two lady chapels. The church fittings include a white marble octagonal pulpit that is carved and sits on red and black columns.[3]
There is a Neo-Georgian presbytery to the east of the building that was built c. 1950, and a former school to the west that dates from 1898.[2] The church has no graveyard.[7]
Interior
edit-
Nave -
Altar
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Farrer, William; Brownbill, J., eds. (1912), "Townships: Layton with Warbreck", A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 7, pp. 247–251, retrieved 14 April 2011
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Hartwell & Pevsner (2009), pp. 137–38
- ^ a b c d e f g h Historic England, "Church of the Sacred Heart (1072015)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 29 April 2011
- ^ Pevsner (1969), p. 69
- ^ Listed Buildings, English Heritage, 2010, retrieved 22 August 2011
- ^ "Candlelit Carols in Resort's Hidden Gem", Blackpool Gazette, 20 December 2010, retrieved 14 April 2011
- ^ "Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary, Blackpool — Roman Catholic", GENUKI, retrieved 14 April 2011
Bibliography
edit- Hartwell, Clare; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2009) [1969]. Lancashire: North. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-12667-9.
- Pevsner, Nikolaus (1969). North Lancashire. London: Penguin. ISBN 0-300-09617-8. OCLC 51622085.