An absolute gem, hidden in the backstreets, this is the finest church building in the town. Designed by George Fellowes-Prynne in the closing years of the nineteenth century, it took 40 years to complete. Apart from the lack of the SW tower, which was never built, it survives as an example of this remarkable man’s vision. Red brick with Portland stone dressings, it gives a feeling of space, yet warmth and the way in which arches of different shape and size spring from the walls almost gives an impression of a building that has grown. The furnishings are delightful; including a fine 1960s window in the Lady Chapel and a towering Triptych behind the High Altar which came from the convent at Clewer, Berkshire. The ‘beauty of holiness’ is an oft-used phrase that truly is applicable to this much-loved building.
