Saint Mary's Catholic Church — Saint Francis Place

Detached eight-bay double-height Classical-style Franciscan friary church, completed 1834, on a corner site comprising six-bay double-height nave with single-bay double-height gabled flush transepts to north and to south, and single-bay double-height chancel to west having single-bay double-height bowed apse to west, two-bay single-storey sacristy to north-west, and single-bay five-stage tower to south-west on a square plan. Renovated, 1908. Renovated, 1930. Pitched slate roofs on a cruciform plan (half-conical to apse; shallow pyramidal to tower) with clay ridge tiles, cut-stone coping having cross finials, and cast-iron rainwater goods on cut-stone profiled eaves. Painted rendered wall to entrance (east) front with cut-limestone dressings forming frontispiece including full-height pilasters having moulded necking, plain frieze, moulded cornice, and moulded pediment over entrance. Round-headed recessed niches to first floor outer bays with moulded rendered sills and surrounds, and statuary. Painted rendered parapet over with cut-stone dressings forming curvilinear profile. Unpainted rendered, ruled and lined walls to remainder with cut-limestone dressings including piers to corners. Coursed tooled cut-limestone walls to tower with advanced corner piers, cut-stone stringcourses, and moulded cornice to top stage on corbels. Venetian window opening to entrance (east) front and to ‘transepts’ with cut-limestone Classical-style dressings. Round-headed window openings to nave and to apse with cut-limestone sills and surrounds. Fixed-pane timber windows to all openings with stained glass panels. Square-headed door openings with cut-limestone surrounds having pediments over, and timber panelled double doors. Round-headed window openings to second stage to tower with cut-stone surrounds, and fixed-pane steel windows. Round-headed openings to top (bell) stage in tripartite arrangement with no fittings. Full-height interior open into roof with glazed timber panelled internal porch having timber panelled gallery over to first floor, carved timber pews, full-height arcade with Ionic columns having moulded plaster cornice over, groin vaulted plaster ceiling, carved marble altar furniture to ‘crossing’, cut-stone Classical-style altars to side chapels, and coffered plaster ceiling to apse. Road fronted on a corner site with concrete footpath to front.