Lillington RC Church
Lillington RC Church, Stained Glass Window
This page is one of several pages which are based on articles in our book entitled Royal Leamington Spa, A History in 100 Buildings which was published in 2018 and is no longer in print.
The Roman Catholic parish of Lillington gained its status as an independent body from the mother church of Saint Peter’s in Leamington Spa in 1958. This was at a time when extensive house building was taking place in the area, with farm land being sold on for local authority and private sector house building. There was already a demand for a permanent place of worship, with an increasing number of Catholic worshippers having had to make do with a number of temporary locations before the site in Valley Road was settled upon. It is with this background that Henry Fedeski was commissioned to design a Church.
His brief was to design a church which it was hoped would provide a building fitting for its high purpose and which would inspire passers-by to enter and give thanks to God for all their blessings. A number of sketches including a general layout were prepared and taken for approval to the then Archbishop of Birmingham. Authority to build was given the go-ahead. The church was intended to seat 398 worshippers, with the potential to accommodate more if needed in the side aisles. The successful contractors were Messrs. Garlick and Sons Ltd., of Coventry, who commenced work in January 1962. The Church was completed for worship by September 1963 when it was dedicated by His Grace the Archbishop of Birmingham, the Most Rev. Francis Grimshaw, D.D.
The building is a double height concrete-framed building with pitched roof, surmounted by a copper-clad spire. Some of the walls are of red brick and pale pink-buff bricks. The most outstanding feature in its construction is the use of tall windows/walls in ‘dalle de verre’ (slab glass) glazing which provides structural support as well as creating a breath-taking kaleidoscope of light. They are equally impressive from within and outside the building. The solid coloured glazed blocks are set in a concrete matrix. The work was undertaken by Dom Charles Norris who headed a team of monks from Prinknash Abbey (Gloucestershire); he is best known for his work at Buckfast Abbey
The Church is essentially cruciform in layout with a central altar on a raised dais. The altar top is of 4” thick Nabresina Roman Marble, as are the communion rail and pulpit plinths. Dark green Westmoreland slate columns provide support for the altar top and the communion rail. The high altar is covered with a tester which is capable of being raised or lowered by cables over pulleys. The floors and steps are of terrazzo with other parts of the interior being of sapele and stainless steel. Whilst there is no east window this omission is compensated for with a glazed mosaic by Steven Sykes, who also worked on Coventry Cathedral.
The building has been given the status of Listed Grade II by Historic England (formerly English Heritage).
Peter Coulls, 2018