| Description | St Austin's RC Church, Wakefield. Catholic Church built 1827 28.
'Roman Catholic Church and attached Parish room. Built 1827 8, to the designs of Joseph Ireland, modified by William Puckrin, mason. Altered 1856 to the designs of Andrews and Delaney. Further alterations and additions 1878 80 to the designs of Joseph Hansom. Parish room added 1930.
Nave with projecting Lady Chapel and porch, with Baptistry and Parish room to west. Red brick with painted sandstone dressings. Slate and lead roofs. North elevation has to left the Parish room, with a projecting central porch with double doors and over light within moulded ashlar surround plus moulded ashlar parapet. Either side are single glazing bar sashes, also in moulded ashlar surround.
The Baptistry has a 3 bay gabled front, with doorway in moulded ashlar surround to the right and 2 plain sashes with moulded and pedimented surrounds to the left. Above, 3 plain sashes in plain surrounds, above again a pediment with blind circular opening.
Lady Chapel is semi octagonal with plinth and 2 ashlar bands. At first floor, windows in cardinal faces with moulded surrounds and pediments, below north window an inscription 'ST AUSTINS 1828'. Above a cornice and an octagonal beaded dome with cross finial. Nave has chamfered plinth, cill band and bracketed eaves cornice. 3 large windows with quarried jambs and blank round heads in moulded surrounds, each window is divided with plate tracery into 2 round headed lancets and a small circular light. Between the windows are 2 blank round headed niches.
To the right a low projecting porch, also with bracketed eaves cornice, topped by a brick parapet. Central round headed door way flanked by pairs of round headed windows, all with moulded surrounds. Attached by low walls a set of 4 square gate piers with segment headed caps, two with lamps, the low wall which formerly carried railings continues to the east.
Interior: has western gallery supported on slender iron columns, cornice and coved ceiling. Slightly narrower chancel as defined by giant Corinthian columns, with shorter columns either side of the altar. Triple arched opening on left to the Lady chapel. Octagonal stone font and late C19 wooden pews'.
(English Heritage listed building description. Date listed 06/11/1989. http://list.english heritage.org.uk/resultsingle.aspx?uid=1243437. Web site accessed 03/12/2013).
St Augustin's Church was the subject of an archaeological assessment by Peter Thornborrow (WYAS) in 1989. The photographic images produced by the assessment are held by WYAAS (Thornborrow, P.H. (WYAS). 1989). The resulting report is entitled 'Amendments to the List of Buildings of Special or Historic Interest in Wakefield: St Austin's RC Church [un listed at this time]'. The report, which provides a comprehensive building description and compiles available evidence, including elevation and plan drawing, photographic images and historic notes, is held by WYAAS. Sections include descriptions of the exterior, parish hall, baptistery, Lady Chapel and nave.
In the summary, Thornborrow describes St Austin’s Church as a complex development which contains an interior of great quality and refinement. It is in effect the Roman Catholic cathedral of Wakefield. It has the added interest of a rich archive in which survive the original drawings for the original building by Joseph Ireland and later by Joseph Aloysius Hansom who remodelled the exterior entrance. The church has historic interest in being an early Roman Catholic church built before the Catholic Emancipation and one of the finest (if not the first) Catholic churches to be built in West Yorkshire after the reformation.
(Thornborrow, P.H. (WYAS). 1989. 'Amendments to the List of Buildings of Special or Historic Interest in Wakefield: St Austin's RC Church’). |