St Albans, Christ Church

Christ Church, redundant now used as offices, is a rather nice Italianate style replica of the RC church of the Archangel Raphael in Surbiton; I really liked it.


CHRIST CHURCH, Verulam Road. Built in 1850 as a Roman Catholic church but soon taken over by the Church of England. The building is supposed to be a copy of the R.C. Church of the Archangel Raphael at Surbiton, Surrey. This was designed by Parker and illustrated in The Builder in 1847. Christ Church is of stone, in the Italian Renaissance style, and of ambitious proportions. The W tower is like a campanile, with arched openings and a far projecting roof. The windows are large twin-openings, the nave has arcades on columns. Only the chancel is straight-ended (an English custom which the architect evidently had no wish to abandon).

Mee doesn't mention it.

Flickr.