St Patrick's Roman Catholic Church

Cadw's description

Location

Prominently situated some 10 m E of junction with Fairfax Road.

History

Built 1962-63 by F.R.Bates, Son & Price of Newport, architects; interior decoration by Jonah Jones. The firm of architects specialised in Catholic churches across South Wales, the majority of which are in a Modern idiom: St Patrick's is, unusually, in a simplified Gothic style. The previous church, built in 1909 to serve workers at Lysaght's Iron and Steel Works was of corrugated iron. The use of warm red brick and a large corner tower is an unusual and deliberate attempt to introduce a prominent landmark to the Docks area, and is clearly influenced by the architecture of later C19 urban churches and chapels.

Exterior

Elevations of orange-red brick, red pantiled roof on deep eaves. Reinforced concrete construction. Windows with concrete glazing to main elevations, smaller windows of steel. Gabled entrance elevat (S) facing Cromwell Road with tall corner tower to right. Entry with large window above set in recess, with plain flanks. Window has angular pointed head; concrete rectilinear glazing. Storm porch below with projecting flat roof; triple angular-headed openings. Paired inner doors with lozenge-pattern glazing each side in concrete. To left of gable is narrow two-bay entrance elevation to Presbytery, which continues into adjacent terrace. Narrow paired windows to both storeys; door to ground floor left. Tall tower with very narrow upper steel windows; narrow lourved belfry lights above. Tower is capped with rectangular open cupola with small cardinal gablets, and copper-clad crucifix finial. East transeptal projectionwith full-height angular-headed concrete gable window, divided horizontally into four bays. Four bay single-storey flat-roofed aisle between transept and tower: the two central bays recessed, with single light steel windows. Four-bay clerestory stage; large concrete window divided by pilaster strips. West side (partly hidden by the Presbytery and Fairfax Road) is broadly similar, with small lights to gable of transept instead of large window. N elevation has rear gable of nave, and lower projecting sanctuary with hipped roof.

Interior

Plan is cruciform, with large nave, transeptal projections containing side chapels to ground floor with balconies above, and short narrow sanctuary with slightly splayed walls. Simple roof. Seven-bay arcades of concrete angular arches. Projecting balconies to left and right of nave above chapels: concrete fronts with open loops. Low wall between nave and sanctuary with centre steps. Angular-headed arch to sanctuary. Free-standing altar set on steps within large timber baldacchino. Rear gallery with projecting centre: timber glazed screen below, with central doors. Circular font of green granite. Expansive S (gallery) window of 1963 by Jonah Jones, depicting St Patrick. Hanging mosaics to rear sanctuary wall depicting Christ in Majesty and the emblems of the Evangelists: also by Jones.

Reason for designation

Listed as a well-designed later C20 Roman Catholic Church by a well-established firm of architects, with its character and detail intact. While using modern materials such as reinforced concrete, the church is extremely unusual in being designed and detailed in a traditional manner, in harmony with, yet dominating the surrounding later C19 townscape.