Listed Building: CHURCH OF ST OSMUND (412427)

POOLE SZ09SW BOURNEMOUTH ROAD, Parkstone 958-1/5/243 (South side) 30/06/80 Church of St Osmund II* Church. Early C20. East end, crossing, N transept and beginning of aisled nave built 1904-05 by GAB Livesey of Bournemouth in free Byzantine style. Completed by Professor ES Prior in partnership with Arthur Grove 1913-16, work which included the dome and rebuilt transepts. Dome partly rebuilt 1922-24 by Sidney Tugwell upon discovery of cracks in dome. Choir vestry with sacristy built 1927 to Prior's original design. S aisle rebuilt 1950 by L Magnus Austin upon failure of vault. Extended 1991 with construction of parish room. MATERIALS: first phase of brick with roughcast render and red terracotta dressings, continued by Prior in thin hand-made brick, specially made locally near Wareham, ranging in colour from yellow, through shades of red, to brown and purple, laid in Flemish bond with red and yellow terracotta dressings and reinforced concrete vaults. Clay pantile roofs except for copper roofs of dome and apex. PLAN: apsed chancel, domed crossing, transepts and nave form Latin cross within rectangle completed by choir vestry and sacristy to N of chancel, chapel to S and nave aisles. EXTERIOR: E end has 1-bay chancel with eastern apse and semicircular ambulatory. Ambulatory has round-arched red terracotta corbel table and cavetto-moulded yellow terracotta eaves and ridged pantile roof. Apse is articulated by red terracotta pilaster strips dividing apse wall into regular panels with 3 round-arched heads, and has moulded frieze and semicircular brick coping with pair of green glazed terracotta colonnettes supporting coping gablet either side. They are mounted on diagonal pilaster buttresses framing gable wall. Chancel has a 2-light window either side with round-arched heads to lights with plain jambs and central shaft with composite capital; round-arched corbel table and moulded yellow terracotta eaves. S chancel chapel has apsidal E end, which has 3 small windows at high level with round-arched heads, corbelled brick eaves, pantile roof and gablet over apse framing relief carving of cross and date 1916. Covered stair to S side lit by 1-light window with triangular heads and plain-tile roof. Later C20 addition projects to S of chapel apse. 2-storey, 3-bay vestry and sacristy range to N side of chancel, the same height as N aisle, has shallow segmental apse to E end with small round-headed windows at 1st-floor level. N side has 2 windows and door beside transept with round-arched heads and circular windows to 1st floor, all with raised brick, splayed surrounds; semicircular attached brick shafts between bays, doubled to angles rising from plinth and merging with parapet corbelled out on segmental arches and with rounded brick coping. Transepts have a circular red terracotta window with 8 divisions round octagonal centre to gable walls at high level with raised brick, splayed surrounds framed by ridged brick string courses top and bottom and by semicircular attached shafts either side joining parapets corbelled out on segmental brick arches with rounded brick coping. Corbelled brick eaves to side walls of transepts. N transept has semicircular brick shaft to centre of wall below window and similar paired shafts to corners and either side. S transept does not project as far as N transept and has niche to gable framed by similar shafts, and aisle in front with pair of windows with round-arched heads and raised brick splayed surrounds separated by central semicircular attached shaft. Low circular dome has circular windows with similar surrounds to intermediate directions, brick frieze corbelled out on segmental brick arches, stepped brick eaves and conical roof. Nave has clerestory with 5 bays of circular windows with similar surrounds and corbelled brick eaves continuing transept eaves. Aisles have 5 bays of large windows with round-arched heads with similar surrounds and parapets like those to vestry range. N aisle has similar brick shafts between bays, paired to alternate bays and to each end. Aisle roof is broken by slopes of internal buttresses joining similar shafts to clerestory. S aisle has prominent offset brick buttresses with round-headed arches outside aisle walls and pair of continuous semicircular brick mouldings like shafts following slopes and offsets of buttresses. Aisles have further recessed bay to west end, that to N with double-leaf N door and wide terracotta surround with flat-arched head and niche above door framing Portland stone statue of St Osmund by Alec Miller. These bays have parapets continuing those of aisles and 2 windows to W at same height as niche and of similar proportions with round-arched heads. Some shafts to angles and single shaft between windows. West front has double-leaf central door with plain terracotta surround with flat-arched head, deeply recessed within brick splays and broad segmental terracotta arch decorated in relief with vine trail. Arch supports arcaded brick balustrade between polygonal turrets which flank nave front with triangular heads to arches and stepped brick parapet (now dismantled). Large circular terracotta window above, with 12 divisions round inner circle. Window is set against background of square brick panels with central raised lozenges. Round-headed arcaded gallery above, then diapered brick panelling below stepped brick cornice. Flanking turrets have semicircular attached brick shafts to centre of side beginning at level of springing of segmental entrance arch. Left turret has small windows with triangular heads lighting stair. Turrets have projecting corbelled brick frieze on segmental arches and stepped brick eaves below sloping base of lantern turrets which have narrow round-headed openings and scalloped conical brick roofs. Nave gable between turrets has stepped rounded brick coping and diamond patterned brick pediment. Church has battered plinths with roll-moulded terracotta coping. INTERIOR: chancel apse has semicircular peristyle to ambulatory with fluted Ionic columns bearing curved entablature, all of red terracotta. Semi-dome of apse is framed by buff terracotta arch on plain terracotta piers jointed to resemble ashlar with red terracotta Byzantine-style capitals. Similar round arches, piers and capitals to crossing with yellow terracotta winged angel busts to angles. Curved walls flank steps up to chancel with balustrades, all in buff terracotta. Nave has similar terracotta transverse piers and arches with red terracotta capitals decorated with moulded foliage ornament in relief. Timber roofs between arches with chamfered ridge pieces and rafters. 3-bay arcades with plain pilaster piers and round arches in buff terracotta and thin moulded capitals in red terracotta with egg and dart decoration. Similar transverse arches to aisles and reinforced concrete groin vaults. Outer aisles with transverse arches pierced through internal buttresses with segmental-arched heads and concrete barrel vaults borne on intermediate columns between principal buttress piers to give 6 bays either side corresponding with windows; plain classical columns with moulded bases on square plinths and red terracotta capitals with foliage decoration, bearing plain lintels. FITTINGS: High Altar has baldacchino based on that of St Clemente, Rome. Wrought-iron railings to peristyle are C18 and from St Mary le Bow in the City of London. Altar cross and 6 candlesticks 1925 by Bainbridge Reynolds. Tabernacle and candlesticks in the Incarnation Chapel to S of chancel and altar cross to Lady Chapel in S transept by same artist. Grille in arch between the 2 chapels decorated in gold, black and white with painted relief of the Annunciation by McDonald Gill. Inscriptions to altar of the Incarnation and over the sacristy door by his brother Eric Gill. Pulpit of coloured marbles with mosaic panels of 1922. Lectern of 1926 by Bainbridge Reynolds with reading desk and candlesticks of hand-beaten bronze. Medieval fluted limestone font bowl, probably C13 from Sturminster Marshall on square stone base by ES Prior with hollow-chamfered angles. More wrought-iron railings in crypt from St Mary le Bow originally enclosing Tomb of Thomas Newton, Bishop of Bristol, d.1782. STAINED GLASS of Prior's thick hand-made patent glass in abstract patterns. MEMORIALS: War Memorial in S aisle with statue of Christ as Christus Rex 1920 by McDonald Gill. St Osmund's was Prior's last major work. (Buildings of England: Pevsner N & Newman J: Dorset: London: 1972-: 334-336; Service A: Edwardian Architecture: London: 1977-: 126-127; Williamson T: A short history and guide: Poole: 1975-). Listing NGR: SZ0038890229

Record last edited

Mar 31 2011 3:52AM