Roman Catholic Church of SS Peter and Frances

Heritage listing

Reason for designation: A Roman Catholic church in a free Gothic style making good use of mass-produced materials (brick, tile and terracotta); simple and well detailed throughout. History: The Catholic parish of Prestatyn was established in 1903 and the church completed also in 1903 to the design of Edmund Kirby of Liverpool. The church was built at the expense of Sir Pyers Mostyn of Talacre. The contractor was Mr Thomas of Prestatyn, and the cost approximately 2,000. Exterior: A wide building in red brick and terracotta, with a red tile roof. The walling is in English Garden Wall bond. Some bricks of a bluer colour are used to create a diaper effect in the brickwork, and some miniature bricks are used in the window head details of the (north-)west elevation. A fine feature is the squatly designed entrance porch at north, in arts and crafts half timbering on a high brickwork plinth. Double chimneys to left of chancel; link (possibly of later date) to presbytery. The nave is of four bays articulated by buttresses; the apse defining the chancel is polygonal in five bays. The apse is narrower than the nave, but has a higher eaves so the roof goes through without interruption; to resolve the clash at eaves level the architect has used little hip-roofed transepts at each side, which have no interior presence. The apse elevations are fenestrated in groups of three lights with simple foliated heads, and there is a string course at head which continues around the lights as a label mould, and a string course at sill level. Plinth offset near ground level. The pseudo-transept facing south has three similar but taller lights. The nave side bays to north and south have groups of four similar lights. The west elevation is in two bays defined by buttresses, and has a three-light gro

From Cadw under OGL v3.