Cheylesmore's church is often described as embodying the ‘Festival of Britain’ style and spirit, and this is no exaggeration. Situated in the southern suburbs of Coventry, Christ Church was built in 1954-7 on an ambitious scale to replace the war damaged Christ Church in the city centre (a Victorian rebuilding of the medieval Greyfriars church, of which only the octagonal steeple remains, the third of Coventry’s famous Three Spires). Designed by A.H. Gardner & Partners, this was one of the grandest and most expensive post-war churches in the country, and says much about the vision and optimism with which new churches were constructed at the time.
The church takes the form of a vast triple-aisled hall, the roof forming a low curve over each aisle which gives the main facade with its largely glazed walls a distinctive outline. Next to this rises the tapering oblong tower with its curious chequerboard top storey (originally a mixture of glazed panels and louvered grills, but replaced by brickwork in more recent years).
The interior is the most astonishing sight here, a great open space only lightly divided into three aisles by slender concrete columns, supporting a great expanse of concave plaster ceiling above, replete with perforated panels (decorated with badges of the City Guilds). The expanses of brick and woodwork are relieved by an unusually bold colour scheme of purple columns and a pinkish lilac for wall panelling (again with a chequered configuration on the south side). Each aisle terminates in a decorative wall finish, most notably the chancel with its wooden reredos with carved angels by John Skelton, whose Evangelist figures also adorn the nearby pulpit. Further angels can be found in more surprising places, a pair flank a clock above the tower door, but most eccentric of all are the tiny wooden figurines suspended in oddly birdcage-like light-fittings along the nave, giving these angels the appearance of caged canaries!
The vast windows are mostly of textured glass, but each contains a pair of densely coloured dalle-de-verre stained glass panels, figurative images from the Life of Christ by Pierre Fourmaintraux from 1955. These mosaics of glass chunks set in concrete are very rich, but alas overwhelmed by the clear glass surrounding them. Nevertheless they form a rare scheme in this medium, and illustrate the unusual degree of artistry lavished on this church.
The church isn't normally open to visitors outside of service times so an appointment will be necessary to see inside. I am hugely grateful to Jenny Scragg in the parish office for being so helpful and welcoming to me here.
www.christchurchcov.net/
Tags: Cheylesmore church Coventry modern contemporary architecture interior
© All Rights Reserved
Cheylesmore's church is often described as embodying the ‘Festival of Britain’ style and spirit, and this is no exaggeration. Situated in the southern suburbs of Coventry, Christ Church was built in 1954-7 on an ambitious scale to replace the war damaged Christ Church in the city centre (a Victorian rebuilding of the medieval Greyfriars church, of which only the octagonal steeple remains, the third of Coventry’s famous Three Spires). Designed by A.H. Gardner & Partners, this was one of the grandest and most expensive post-war churches in the country, and says much about the vision and optimism with which new churches were constructed at the time.
The church takes the form of a vast triple-aisled hall, the roof forming a low curve over each aisle which gives the main facade with its largely glazed walls a distinctive outline. Next to this rises the tapering oblong tower with its curious chequerboard top storey (originally a mixture of glazed panels and louvered grills, but replaced by brickwork in more recent years).
The interior is the most astonishing sight here, a great open space only lightly divided into three aisles by slender concrete columns, supporting a great expanse of concave plaster ceiling above, replete with perforated panels (decorated with badges of the City Guilds). The expanses of brick and woodwork are relieved by an unusually bold colour scheme of purple columns and a pinkish lilac for wall panelling (again with a chequered configuration on the south side). Each aisle terminates in a decorative wall finish, most notably the chancel with its wooden reredos with carved angels by John Skelton, whose Evangelist figures also adorn the nearby pulpit. Further angels can be found in more surprising places, a pair flank a clock above the tower door, but most eccentric of all are the tiny wooden figurines suspended in oddly birdcage-like light-fittings along the nave, giving these angels the appearance of caged canaries!
The vast windows are mostly of textured glass, but each contains a pair of densely coloured dalle-de-verre stained glass panels, figurative images from the Life of Christ by Pierre Fourmaintraux from 1955. These mosaics of glass chunks set in concrete are very rich, but alas overwhelmed by the clear glass surrounding them. Nevertheless they form a rare scheme in this medium, and illustrate the unusual degree of artistry lavished on this church.
The church isn't normally open to visitors outside of service times so an appointment will be necessary to see inside. I am hugely grateful to Jenny Scragg in the parish office for being so helpful and welcoming to me here.
www.christchurchcov.net/
Tags: Cheylesmore church Coventry modern contemporary architecture interior
© All Rights Reserved
Cheylesmore's church is often described as embodying the ‘Festival of Britain’ style and spirit, and this is no exaggeration. Situated in the southern suburbs of Coventry, Christ Church was built in 1954-7 on an ambitious scale to replace the war damaged Christ Church in the city centre (a Victorian rebuilding of the medieval Greyfriars church, of which only the octagonal steeple remains, the third of Coventry’s famous Three Spires). Designed by A.H. Gardner & Partners, this was one of the grandest and most expensive post-war churches in the country, and says much about the vision and optimism with which new churches were constructed at the time.
The church takes the form of a vast triple-aisled hall, the roof forming a low curve over each aisle which gives the main facade with its largely glazed walls a distinctive outline. Next to this rises the tapering oblong tower with its curious chequerboard top storey (originally a mixture of glazed panels and louvered grills, but replaced by brickwork in more recent years).
The interior is the most astonishing sight here, a great open space only lightly divided into three aisles by slender concrete columns, supporting a great expanse of concave plaster ceiling above, replete with perforated panels (decorated with badges of the City Guilds). The expanses of brick and woodwork are relieved by an unusually bold colour scheme of purple columns and a pinkish lilac for wall panelling (again with a chequered configuration on the south side). Each aisle terminates in a decorative wall finish, most notably the chancel with its wooden reredos with carved angels by John Skelton, whose Evangelist figures also adorn the nearby pulpit. Further angels can be found in more surprising places, a pair flank a clock above the tower door, but most eccentric of all are the tiny wooden figurines suspended in oddly birdcage-like light-fittings along the nave, giving these angels the appearance of caged canaries!
The vast windows are mostly of textured glass, but each contains a pair of densely coloured dalle-de-verre stained glass panels, figurative images from the Life of Christ by Pierre Fourmaintraux from 1955. These mosaics of glass chunks set in concrete are very rich, but alas overwhelmed by the clear glass surrounding them. Nevertheless they form a rare scheme in this medium, and illustrate the unusual degree of artistry lavished on this church.
The church isn't normally open to visitors outside of service times so an appointment will be necessary to see inside. I am hugely grateful to Jenny Scragg in the parish office for being so helpful and welcoming to me here.
www.christchurchcov.net/
Tags: Cheylesmore church Coventry modern contemporary wood carving sculpture relief John Skelton angel
© All Rights Reserved
Cheylesmore's church is often described as embodying the ‘Festival of Britain’ style and spirit, and this is no exaggeration. Situated in the southern suburbs of Coventry, Christ Church was built in 1954-7 on an ambitious scale to replace the war damaged Christ Church in the city centre (a Victorian rebuilding of the medieval Greyfriars church, of which only the octagonal steeple remains, the third of Coventry’s famous Three Spires). Designed by A.H. Gardner & Partners, this was one of the grandest and most expensive post-war churches in the country, and says much about the vision and optimism with which new churches were constructed at the time.
The church takes the form of a vast triple-aisled hall, the roof forming a low curve over each aisle which gives the main facade with its largely glazed walls a distinctive outline. Next to this rises the tapering oblong tower with its curious chequerboard top storey (originally a mixture of glazed panels and louvered grills, but replaced by brickwork in more recent years).
The interior is the most astonishing sight here, a great open space only lightly divided into three aisles by slender concrete columns, supporting a great expanse of concave plaster ceiling above, replete with perforated panels (decorated with badges of the City Guilds). The expanses of brick and woodwork are relieved by an unusually bold colour scheme of purple columns and a pinkish lilac for wall panelling (again with a chequered configuration on the south side). Each aisle terminates in a decorative wall finish, most notably the chancel with its wooden reredos with carved angels by John Skelton, whose Evangelist figures also adorn the nearby pulpit. Further angels can be found in more surprising places, a pair flank a clock above the tower door, but most eccentric of all are the tiny wooden figurines suspended in oddly birdcage-like light-fittings along the nave, giving these angels the appearance of caged canaries!
The vast windows are mostly of textured glass, but each contains a pair of densely coloured dalle-de-verre stained glass panels, figurative images from the Life of Christ by Pierre Fourmaintraux from 1955. These mosaics of glass chunks set in concrete are very rich, but alas overwhelmed by the clear glass surrounding them. Nevertheless they form a rare scheme in this medium, and illustrate the unusual degree of artistry lavished on this church.
The church isn't normally open to visitors outside of service times so an appointment will be necessary to see inside. I am hugely grateful to Jenny Scragg in the parish office for being so helpful and welcoming to me here.
www.christchurchcov.net/
Tags: Cheylesmore church Coventry modern contemporary wood carving sculpture relief John Skelton angel
© All Rights Reserved
Cheylesmore's church is often described as embodying the ‘Festival of Britain’ style and spirit, and this is no exaggeration. Situated in the southern suburbs of Coventry, Christ Church was built in 1954-7 on an ambitious scale to replace the war damaged Christ Church in the city centre (a Victorian rebuilding of the medieval Greyfriars church, of which only the octagonal steeple remains, the third of Coventry’s famous Three Spires). Designed by A.H. Gardner & Partners, this was one of the grandest and most expensive post-war churches in the country, and says much about the vision and optimism with which new churches were constructed at the time.
The church takes the form of a vast triple-aisled hall, the roof forming a low curve over each aisle which gives the main facade with its largely glazed walls a distinctive outline. Next to this rises the tapering oblong tower with its curious chequerboard top storey (originally a mixture of glazed panels and louvered grills, but replaced by brickwork in more recent years).
The interior is the most astonishing sight here, a great open space only lightly divided into three aisles by slender concrete columns, supporting a great expanse of concave plaster ceiling above, replete with perforated panels (decorated with badges of the City Guilds). The expanses of brick and woodwork are relieved by an unusually bold colour scheme of purple columns and a pinkish lilac for wall panelling (again with a chequered configuration on the south side). Each aisle terminates in a decorative wall finish, most notably the chancel with its wooden reredos with carved angels by John Skelton, whose Evangelist figures also adorn the nearby pulpit. Further angels can be found in more surprising places, a pair flank a clock above the tower door, but most eccentric of all are the tiny wooden figurines suspended in oddly birdcage-like light-fittings along the nave, giving these angels the appearance of caged canaries!
The vast windows are mostly of textured glass, but each contains a pair of densely coloured dalle-de-verre stained glass panels, figurative images from the Life of Christ by Pierre Fourmaintraux from 1955. These mosaics of glass chunks set in concrete are very rich, but alas overwhelmed by the clear glass surrounding them. Nevertheless they form a rare scheme in this medium, and illustrate the unusual degree of artistry lavished on this church.
The church isn't normally open to visitors outside of service times so an appointment will be necessary to see inside. I am hugely grateful to Jenny Scragg in the parish office for being so helpful and welcoming to me here.
www.christchurchcov.net/
Tags: Cheylesmore church Coventry modern contemporary wood carving sculpture relief John Skelton
© All Rights Reserved