NEW ST. MARY OF THE ANGELS CHURCH

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 171, 14 April 1919, Page 6

NEW ST. MARY OF THE ANGELS CHURCH

INTERESTING TYPE IN ARCHITECT LIRE.

Nrarlv a year ago, the second Church of St. 'Mary of the Angels, Boulcott Street, was'burnt down, and now it is to be replaced bv a building to be constructed of the most permanent materials known—reinforced concrete for tho walls and Welsh slates for the roof.' The church, which ha? so lately disappeared, was built of timber between forty and fifty years aw from a desiCT by Mr. Clavt'on, Sir Julius Vogel's father-in-law, and at the time tllie first Government architect. Mr. Clayton was a man of considerable taste, but unfortunately his work was chiefly i" wood and not much, of it remain's. The Government Building, containing the Departmental offices, is the chief. The church, however, under notice, when it left Mr. Clayton's hands, was -a model building-cnicifctnn in plan, .and having a tower and spire at the intersection of the navo and' transmits. In styte, it- was early English, inasmuch "3 'the windows were lancetheaded, nnd the general proportions were what'might have been expected of a thirteenth century nirohitec.t to have adopted had he been building at tho present day and with the materials at M''. Clayton'*! disposal. Tho now church will be in many respects a great advance on Hie old onemuch lareer in area, and planned 1 generally on a grander fcnle. As before mentioned, the material will bo«of reinforced concrete, and as this practicVllv means a plaster treatment the architects have trusted to richness of design rather than beauty of material for architectural effect] Of all the English phases of Gothic architecture none seems to lend itself to reinforced concrete letter tfban tho "Perpendicular"—that in. the period in vogue during the fifteenth and early parts of the sixteenth centuries. As its name denotes, perpendicular lines -were the dominant features in the panelling, which in many cases pracficallv covered all the wall surfaces (and oft*n the vaulting a? well), and the window* werelittlo more- than this snme pmHlteg pierced thrnu?l> the walls and glazed. On account of it* -adaotabiliH- to Wellington requirements the architects have chosen this style of Gothic, in the. new church. «t the same time th«v ''ave not slavishly followed any one building, nor in fact'have they oven followed any onn v .ype, but have irone abroad te« ideas and woven them into a fabric, which, from the drawings, we feel sure will prove an epoch-making struntnro and a model of more to follow. The. plan, perhaps, is more Continental tb>n Ensrlish. the nave is wide nod Hie aisles are processional paths, without seats; the sanctuary is large and is terminated n.rsirlaily. the processional paths extending round it. Outside the striking features will b» Die+ll-0 towers flanking the front towards Willis Street, nnd guarding the °reat wheel window below the gable. These towers rise to a height above the pavement of a'bnut 10(i feet, are in four stories, the two upper ones lieinj* filled with open tracery, and each, angle being terminated with a crorlcetted pinnacle, llere again a foreign feature married, as it were, into the English family, th-at is. the sniiaro turret at each outside anV l " containing the spiral staircase leading from the ground fter-r to the ■tower'roof. In nearly all English churches this turret is oclanfronal. nnd i* placed at the back cf the tower (Wells Cathedral is one of the example). Ik St. .Mary's it is made the salient feature, and is square on plan, the idea beinc; taken from the Church of St. Gudule in Brussels. Tinder th» west, window is .a porch, the front of which is broken up into thil-e enriched -robes, surmounted by twelve custH niches, in wlrch. later on, will be p-Wed rtetues probably renresenHiig the twelve Apostles. As bete"? slated, the Toof will be covered with Welsh slates, the fminin<r will be of jarrab, the construction lieine what is known as "hammer beam." All the spandrels will bo filled with trnr.erv. The'contractor for the building is Mr. -\ 4 Banner. tl>i> price bete? i">7.5(10. Messrs. Ore (F.1M.8.A.l and Williams (A.R.LB.A.) arc (he architects.