Radford: St Nicholas
Overview
Grid reference: SP 325 806
Designed by Lavender, Twentyman and Percy with R H Fellows as executant architect 1954-5. Replaced older church destroyed by enemy action in 1940. Long nave and chancel in one with tall brick campanile attached to south-east. Pevsner describes as ‘hangar-shape, with inward-leaning walls.’ Set on slightly raised ground. Employs variety of materials.
Visiting and facilities
Building is closed for worship
Building
Ground Plan Description and Dimensions
Ground plan:
Nave and choir with chancel under one roof. North aisle with baptistery to west and Lady Chapel to east. South aisle screened to form vestibule and entrance lobby. Attached campanile at east end with boiler room beneath to west. Church hall attached to west end with WCs and kitchen. North-east vestries.
Dimensions:
[Approximate] Nave 27.5m (90ft) x 12m (40ft), chancel 5.5m (18ft)
Description of Archaeology and History
Radford was an ancient village which grew in the 19th Century as one of Coventry’s weaving districts. Later in the century the Daimler motor factory was established here. Residential development increased during the 1920s so that by WWII the previously agricultural area was almost entirely built upon.
A red sandstone church was constructed on the site of a 14th Century church in 1874 on an area of ground geographically south-east of the present St Nicholas. It was designed by G Taylor in the Early English style and was destroyed by parachute bomb in November 1940, the same night that Coventry Cathedral suffered. The churchyard and gravestones remain but only a stone step of the church survives. Four were killed in the blast and their names were featured on a plaque on the west wall of the new church (relocated to hall).
Lavender, Twentyman and Percy had designed two inter-war brick churches in 1938-9, both listed Grade II (St Martin, Wolverhampton and St Gabriel, Walsall), and two post-war churches (All Saints, Darlaston 1952 and Emmanuel, Bentley, Walsall 1955-7). The two latter churches bear similarities to the Radford design – reinforced concrete, campaniles, acoustic ceilings and under-floor coil heating.
The church was intended to seat 334 in the nave, 54 in the Lady Chapel and 48 in the choir totalling 436 seats. A foundation stone was laid in the east wall of the tower in 1953 by the Bishop of Singapore, then Vicar of Radford, the church was consecrated in 1955. The builders were Messrs E Fletcher Ltd, Kingswinford, Staffordshire.
It was designed with a wide choir to ensure unobstructed views of the altar. The walls were sloped inwards to reduce the span of the roof whilst still allowing for a wide nave. This reduced the overall expense of the building and introduced a sense of perspective to avoid a squat effect. The attached hall, though designed at the same time, was built at right-angles later. A temporary covering was made in brick key-ways and asbestos sheeting. A proposed stage and dressing rooms were never built.
St Nicholas has been described as the first new church which broke away from traditional lines that was consecrated in Coventry following the war.
Plans for the church hall, now used for worship, exist in the hall’s vestry. They were issued by Twentyman, Percy and Partners in 1987.
The archaeological potential of the immediate site is low with higher potential around the site of the former church. There are no known designations relating to the ecology of the plot, though it is a large area of green space and contains some mature trees in the vicinity of the old church.
Exterior Description
The church was built with reinforced concrete frames which make up the bays, with panel walls between. Linking its inward sloping walls is a segmental concrete roof, until recently covered in copper. Attached along the south side is a low vestibule with the main entrance to the church up steps at the eastern end. To the south-east is a tall brick campanile which tapers slightly and has an opening at the top containing two bells. It has a copper capping and copper spirelet. On its south side, beneath a cross near ground level, is a stone relief carving of St Nicholas calming the storm. An angular single storey church hall extends south from the south-west corner of the vestibule. Similar extensions abut the north-east corner and contain vestries. The extensions were re-roofed in corrugated metal in 1970s (previously flat).
During construction the walls were covered with a waterproof membrane before they were faced with brick. Materials such as slate and stone are integrated into the fabric for example slate around the east vestibule porch and tiles in the north-east corner. The concrete east wall is patterned in diamond shapes and has a raised stone cross. The west elevation also has a raised cross formed out of brick, there is a door beneath it at ground level.
The nave and choir is of eight bays. The principal arches within the concrete frame, faced in brick, appear like buttresses rising up to the eaves between each bay. The west bay has no windows, but the other seven have large rectangular windows positioned above the extensions. The chancel is differentiated by its grid-like arrangement of square windows (four rows of five) which have green slate surrounds with splayed reveals (would have allowed light to diffuse into the chancel).
Building Fabric and Features
Nave
20th century
Chancel
20th century
Choir
20th century
Aisle
20th century north to west
Baptistery
20th century west
Lady Chapel
20th century east
Aisle
20th century south screened to form vestibule and entrance lobby
Bell Tower (component)
20th century attached at east end
Boiler Room
20th century beneath
Church Hall
20th century attached to west end
Kitchen
20th century with WCs in church hall
Vestry
20th century north east
Building Materials
Concrete
20th century reinforced concrete frame
Brick
20th century yellow brick facing
Copper
20th century tower roof finish
Stone
20th century cast stone
Slate
20th century Westmoreland green slate and tiles
Iron
20th century corrugated roofs over side extensions
Interior
Interior Description
Entry is up steps or a ramp into the vestibule. At the west end a curved wooden screen displays a Diocesan crest and is positioned in front of the WCs. A door on the north side enters into the huge main space. The full length remains the same width and height which allowed for unobstructed views of the altar and reduced segregation. The choir is marginally differentiated from the nave by fixed choir stalls and its elevation by two shallow steps. The sanctuary is differentiated by a different ceiling and its windows. The nave light fittings, which were specially designed and suspended from the walls, are missing. Several original copper light fittings survive in the vestibule.
The vaulted nave ceiling is panelled in walnut strips running east-west, the slots between them were designed to improve the acoustics. The floor is covered in carpet tiles. The west wall, once dominated by an impressive display of organ pipes, now has an empty balcony situated above double doors. To the south, at ground level the bottom of the concrete arch frames form piers which stand proud of the vertical wood panelling between them. The panels divide the worship space from the vestibule area. Due to the incline the ‘clerestory’ slightly overhangs with the areas around the windows plastered. The spaces between the piers to the north are open. The aisle-like space that is formed has the Baptistery where the font remains in situ to the west, against the backdrop of a wood-panelled wall of narrow vertical slats. The Lady Chapel is positioned to the east but the Lady Chapel altar has been moved out into the nave.
At the east end of the nave is the fixed pulpit, with the passage to the vestries beyond it to the north. The choir is a continuation of the nave, differentiated by its position raised by two shallow steps, a floor paved in stone and fixed choir stalls. It also has some of the only surviving furniture left in place. The lectern remains fixed to the south side. A consecration stone, carved on stone from the old church, is positioned in the wall in the north-east corner behind the choir stalls.
The sanctuary is raised by another couple of steps where the communion rails and altar table remain. It is marked out as a different space by its arrangement of square windows and a concrete vault overhead. The windows rise the full-height of the north and south walls and on bright days a mosaic of light would have fallen on the east end. The vault has two rows of recessed lights either side. The entire expanse of the east wall is panelled in walnut with raised diamond shapes in sycamore. The wall provides a dramatic focus to views from inside the church. A mahogany Diocesan cross is fixed to the upper wall.
Fixtures and fittings
Altar
20th century wood table with stone top
Pulpit
20th century circular - concrete base, mahogany fixed to curved plywood in projecting rib formation
Lectern
20th century simple wood with brass finish, stand tapers to a narrow base, fixed
Font (component)
20th century octagonal stone font salvaged from old church
Rail
20th century original wood - simply designed with rounded edges and unadorned up-rights
Portable Furnishings and Artworks
registers - marriages 1877, baptisms 1912 and burials 1912
Churchyard
Grid reference: SP 325 806
Burial and War Grave Information
It is unknown whether the building is consecrated.
It is unknown whether the churchyard has been used for burial.
It is unknown whether the churchyard is used for burial.
The churchyard has war graves.
National Heritage record for England designations
There are no records of National Heritage assets within the curtilage of this site.
Environment
Ancient, Veteran & Notable Trees
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
There are no records of Ancient, Veteran or Notable Trees within the curtilage of this site.
Renewables
| Renewable | Installed |
|---|---|
| Solar PV Panels | No |
| Solar Thermal Panels | No |
| Biomass | No |
| Wind Turbine | No |
| Air Source Heat Pump | No |
| Ground Source Heat Pump | No |
| Ev Charging | No |
Species summary
There are no records of species within the curtilage of this site.
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
'Seek advice' Species
More information on species and action to be taken upon discovery.
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
Further information
Sources
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