St Mary's Church, Warrington

St Mary’s Church stands in the centre of Warrington, a red-brick town in Cheshire. It was built on the site of a former cotton mill, bought in 1870 and designed by E. W. Pugin. Nikolaus Pevsner, the architectural historian, counted it among the best churches the Pugin family produced. The building mixes pale Pierpoint stone with red Runcorn sandstone in a Decorated Gothic style. A tall southwest tower carries the words AVE MARIA carved into its parapet. The church is notable for its reverent liturgy celebrated in the pre-Vatican II form of the Roman Rite. Since 2015 it has been served by priests of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter. Sunday Sung Mass and daily Low Mass are streamed live from the church to listeners worldwide. The interior contains fine fittings by Peter Paul Pugin, including the High Altar of 1885 and oak choir stalls of 1891. Carvings of English saints appear in the nave arcades, each figure supported by an angel. Inside, the church is airy and spacious, with a six-bay nave and clerestory windows. The reredos shows the adoration of the kings and shepherds, topped by statues of four saints devoted to Mary. Stained glass windows by Hardman & Co. and Harry Clarke depict local and universal saints. To the north lies the Sacred Heart Chapel, to the south the English Martyrs Chapel. The Stations of the Cross are recessed in Caen stone, and a reliquary holds relics of the missionary Dominic Barberi.