Image: Christ Church, Welshpool. Terracotta Romanesque revival arch

Description: Thomas Penson's use of terracotta at Christchurch has been thought to be the earliest use of terracotta since Tudor times (see Stratton "Terracotta'), but there is a slightly earlier example of blue terracotta bricks and mouldings being used on the facade of the Roman Catholic church at Stoke on Trent. Penson, who had offices at Oswestry, almost certainly sourced the terracotta from the brickyards at Trefonen, where suitable clay was being extracted from the coal pits in the small Oswestry coalfield. Christ Church was commissioned by the Earl of Powis to commemorate his son, Edward James, the Viscount Clive, having come of age. It was designed by Thomas Penson and completed 1839-44. The church is characterised by its impressive Romanesque Revival architecture in Welsh Trachyte (from the Earl’s nearbyStandard quarry), consisting of a 7-bay nave with offset west tower, lean-to aisles, apse and south porch. The west gable of the nave has a wide doorway with triple arches with chevron moulding, while the tower is supported by massive pilaster buttresses.
Christ Church was most noted for its interior decoration, and in particular its early use of terracotta, for example in the heavily ornamented arches and font.
The congregation of Christ Church dropped dramatically during the twentieth century and in 1999 it was closed and sold for redevelopment. Haslam Buildings of Wales: Powys". Penguin/Yale 208-209 (2nd ed to appear in Nov 2013)
Title: Christ Church, Welshpool. Terracotta Romanesque revival arch
Credit: Own work
Author: Tyssul
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