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Summary

Grade II listed early 20th century large brick church with campanile, built next to a Victorian smaller church

Associated Legal Designations or Protected Status

• Listed Building (II) 1482846: Church of St Joseph, Newbury

Monument Type(s):

• ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH (Mid to Late 19th century - 1864 AD to 1864 AD)
• ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH (Early 20th century to Early to Mid 20th century - 1923 AD to 1928 AD)

Full Description

The large Roman Catholic church on London Road was identified during a 2006 historic character study <1><2> as being significant to Newbury but unlisted, and is a local landmark next to the intersection of several roads. Murray's Guide <3> describes the brick church as Neo-Romanesque, with a separate campanile; a statue of Jesus also stands on the roof of the main building. Pevsner <4> calls it, 'inappropriately Early Christian or Byzantine or Italian Romanesque' in style. It was built between 1923-8 by W C Mangan, adjacent to its predecessor, a small red brick church of 1864, which is still extant in the early 21st century.

The First Edition Ordnance Survey Town Plan, 1:500 scale <5> depicts the earlier St Joseph Roman Catholic place of worship and notes it had seats for 160; the Sacristy and Presbytery are also marked. This old church was built adjoining a Georgian villa, presumably the building used from the start for the priest's accommodation. There was a large area of open space or garden to the west of the chapel, and this was used for the 1920s building, first shown on the 4th Epoch of 1933-4 <10>. From this time onwards, the old church is named as a hall, but it still forms part of the Catholic church complex. According to the Berkshire religious census, the first St Joseph's church was licensed in 1830 <7> but it is not clear where this was located. The Victoria County History <8> noted 'there was a mission in the town' before 1864. Davis's 1849 map of Newbury <12> numbers 41 points of interest including churches and chapels of various denominations, but does not include St Joseph's.

A photograph in West Berkshire Museum shows a gathering of clergy and choristers at the laying of the foundation stone of the new church; a note on the reverse says that the church began in 1926 and was built with bricks from Shaw Kiln <10>. Other sources considered the bricks came from the Pinewood Estate Brick and Tile Company in Hermitage. There are also several exterior and interior shots of both churches in the early and late 20th century in the museum collections <11>.

This church was studied under the Taking Stock project <13>, an architectural and historical review of Catholic churches and chapels in England and Wales. Following assessment by Historic England in 2023 <14>, the Church of St Joseph was listed at Grade II for its architectural and historic interest <15>. It is a good example of the work of Wildred Mangan, and is considered a restrained and elegant composition in a Byzantine and Romanesque style, retaining the majority of its good quality interior <14>.

Sources and further reading

Related Monuments

Associated Excavations and Fieldwork

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