Presbytery at Catholic Cathedral Church of St Mary

Location

Adjoins the R.C. Cathedral, to which it is linked by a stone covered-way.

History

Built as the presbytery to the Roman Catholic Church of Saint Mary (now the cathedral) in 1857, to designs of E. W. Pugin, and extended later in C19 with additions to rear wing.

Exterior

Brick with stone dressings and slate roof. Gothic style, 2 storeys, 4 window range with advanced outer gables and doorway in angle of central range with right hand gable. Arched doorway in chamfered stone architrave beneath lean-to porch carried on chamfered and braced struts, continuing between the two gables. Plain narrow lights to ground floor of left hand wing, the upper windows paired foiled lancets. Similar paired windows in entrance range. Canted bay window with transomed lancet lights in right hand gable, and triple foiled lancets above. Upper windows throughout have pale brick relieving arches over. Both gables surmounted by cross finials. Axial and gable end stacks. Return elevation to right has paired foiled lancets on each floor, the upper windows beneath a gabled dormer, and wide advanced gable beyond, with canted bay window to ground floor, and paired lancets beneath relieving arch above. Later extension beyond this gable, in a similar style, with single lancet window and squared bay window set across the angle.

Interior

The central range of the frontage is entirely occupied by the full-height stair hall, with heavy chamfered woodstaircase and balustrade of galleried upper landing. Original layout and some detail including joinery and encaustic tiled floor to entrance hall survive.

Reason for designation

The presbytery forms an intergral part of the designs for the cathedral site, and is a good example of the domestic gothic style typically used for buildings with an ecclesiastical function.

Group value with Roman Catholic Cathedral.