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Archaeology

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Listing Description

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Sneinton
St Christopher

Archaeology

St Christopher’s Church Sneinton was completed in 1910, to a design by Mr. Frank Littler (1860-1930) Littler was born at Waltham Abbey Essex, and at the 1891 Census was living with his older brother at The Vicarage, Weston, Nottinghamshire. His brother was the parish Rector. In 1909 when Littler submitted the plans for St Christopher’s he was living in the village of Lowdham, Nottinghamshire. Littler is credited with other local church work including the building of the new Church of St John the Baptist, Colwick and the restoration of St Leodegarius’ Church, Old Basford, Nottingham, plus work for the Duke of Newcastle on the Clumber Estate.

The present church is the second building on the site, the first being a corrugated iron clad building erected in 1902. Before 1902 the land was a green-field site used for cattle grazing. It was part of the estates of the Earl Manvers who gave it to the church. At the time the land was transferred most of the adjoining land was still agricultural or gardens. The church building was part of the eastward extension of the city into Sneinton.

The building has a nave with central, north and south aisles. The chancel is a continuation of the central nave. North and South transepts project only slightly from the side aisles, but give the appearance of a cruciform church. Vestries fill the north-east side of chancel. The main entrance door complete with decorated porch is located at the southwest corner of the building. Another door without a porch at the north-west corner has recently been removed and bricked over as part of the installation of new toilets and kitchen facilities. The nave and chancel have a common roofline.

The nave roof is supported by five pairs of stone piers with half piers against the west wall and the chancel arch, giving seven arches. The six bays leading from the west end are reduced in height to allow for the clerestory windows. The seventh arches, effectively the crossing arches, are carried to the full height of the eaves. Towering almost to the apex of the roof the chancel arch allows a full height view of the east window.

Arcade

All the stone within the church is Limestone. Much of the internal stonework is grey in colour but with considerable variation in shade. There are also substantial areas of pink pigmentation throughout the stone. The piers rise from a square base with rounded corners onto short moulded plinths. Each slender pier has a central square section with a half circle almost covering each face, creating the impression of four joined shafts. Further decoration is added by the small rectangular moulding on the cusp of each shaft. The piers are positioned to allow each of the four shafts to face the outer walls of the church, north, south, east, and west. Finally the four shafts are topped by moulded capitals, which extended to carry the arches.

Roof

When the church was repaired after the 1941 bombing the architect C Howitt designed a roof made from concrete supported by steel and wire mesh. Concrete beams lead from corbeled spines set into the wall over the nave providing the initial support. The internal surface of the concrete roof is divided into sections, the edges being covered with steel and concrete mouldings, which is enhanced by the use of bosses in the form of flowers at the intersection of panels. The beams are decorated with central a fleur-de lis flanked by a five pointed star

The roof of the side aisle is of similar construction, but has no decoration other than the mouldings over the panel joints.

Walls

All the internal walls are cement rendered. It was intended that they should be painted but this has not happened to date

Floor

Terrazzo both in the form of tiles and in situ casting covers the chancel including the steps. Some of this area is now carpeted.

Wood flooring is under the nave and side aisles. 1941 photographs of these areas show voids of considerable depth at that time.

The central aisle is carpeted but it is likely that it is surfaced with the same 9" square brown quarry tiles as the outer aisles.

Organ

The console is set under the north transept arch.

Vestries

Located within the north east corner of the church are the vestries and toilets plus another access door.

Seating - Furniture

All the seating and most of the furniture is made from light oak.

Exterior

St Christopher’s Church, Sneinton is mainly a brick built structure with limestone used to frame the windows and doors, and to add finish and decoration to the walls and buttresses.

The brickwork is laid in English bond using 3" red bricks of a type commonly made locally at the time. Most probably they were from the Burgass Road or Carlton Hill brick-works both less than two miles away

The stone however is not local, it is a limestone but unlike the internal stone it is not grey/pink but more of a buff colour. It is of course in many areas now covered with deposits of soot from the many domestic and factory chimneys, which until recent years surrounded it.

Stone is used for the decorative string-courses below the windowsills and between the buttresses. There are also three plain courses of stone in both the east and west gable walls. Double buttresses support the walls at all the corners and between each of the lower windows. They all have gables with stone cappings and gable stones at the points were their thickness is decreased.

A carved stone cross sits on the apex of the east gable, whilst the west wall accommodates the bellcote. The bellcote has a small stone tower which covers the stone open trefoil headed housing for the solitary bell.

The wall plate that carries the guttering to the main roof is also of stone. Over the nave it is faced with a simple ogee moulding, but over the chancel it is more ornate with caved floral bosses. The arch framing the main door and porch with deeply cut moulded stonework is also decorated with the same design.

Roof

All the roof is covered with dark coloured clay roof tiles. Where they are damaged it is obvious that they were originally red. The roof of the 1910 church was also covered in similar tiles bearing the trademark ‘Phoenix’.

Most of the guttering and rain water system is made from cast iron. Much of box section guttering and the down-pipes are decorated with tradition rose heads and fleur-de-lis and carry the trade mark of the iron-founders ‘The Carron Company’. On the south elevation the rainwater from the roof over the aisle is channelled in lead through the parapet wall, and discharged into the down-pipe through ornately carved bird heads.

All the roof flashings are fabricated from sheet copper, now supporting a light green patina.

The church is on a corner site, which is level throughout. It is enclosed by a low brick wall, which has a stone capping, and is surmounted by ornate wrought iron railings. Double gates are located in front of the main south-east doors to the church and the vestry entrance on the eastside of the site.

Church Hall

At the rear of the site is a detached brick built hall, completed in 1958 by a local builder, Mr J Powell.