St. Joseph, Lancaster

Introduction

Saint Joseph's Church in Lancaster is one of the earliest Pugin designs to display Perpendicular Revival detailing, with the west nave window being exceptionally large.

Architecture and furnishings

The church is built of coursed rock-faced sandstone with slate roofs in Perpendicular Revival style. The church has a nave with clerestory, north and south aisles, a north-west tower, south-west baptistry, chancel, north and south chapels, and a south vestry linking to the presbytery. The tower has a 2-light west window with reticulated tracery, a north doorway with moulded Tudor arch, and Tudor-arched bell openings of 3 lights with Perpendicular tracery below a parapet with traceried openings and corner gargoyles. The west nave window is of 5 lights, with the outer order of the jambs carried down to ground level to enclose a recessed panel containing a central doorway with pointed arch flanked by one-light windows.

The nave clerestory and north aisle are each of 5 bays and have 3-light windows with segmental heads, the central lights trefoiled and the outer ones pointed. The north chapel has a pitched roof and a 3-light east window; the chancel has north and south windows each of 3 lights and an east window of 5 lights; the south chapel has a circular traceried east window. The octagonal baptistry is linked to the south aisle, which is of 4 bays. The nave roof has arch-braced collar trusses with wall posts carried on corbels and tracery infill above the collar; the chancel, chapels, and baptistry have timber ribbed roofs with painted panels.

The chapels and chancel have carved reredoses, the chancel reredos being particularly elaborate with green marble shafts and canopied niches. The north and south chapels and chancel have east windows by Hardman of Birmingham. The communion rails, north and south chancel screens, and the pulpit, by Gillow of Lancaster, are of oak with carved tracery decoration. The baptistry contains a plain octagonal font.

Pugin and Pugin designed this church, which was built in 1900. The west gallery has a traceried timber front and contains an organ. The tall pointed chancel arch is moulded.