Caistor, St Thomas More - Diocese of Nottingham

St Thomas More (Chapel of Ease)Bank Lane, Caistor, LincolnshireNational Grid Reference TA 117013Statement of ImportanceA modern church housed in an extended 19 th century former printingworks. The chief significance of the building lies less in its specialinterest as a church, which is very modest, but in the townscapecontribution of the original building, and its location within the formerRoman town.Part 1: Core data1.1. Listed grade: Not listed1.2. Conservation Area: Caistor Conservation Area1.3. Scheduled Ancient Monument: No (but the site is within the Roman town)1.4. Churchyard: No1.5. Date(s): 19 th century; converted to a church 19601.6. Architect(s): Not known

1.7. Date of visit: 15 December 20101.8. Name of report author: Andrew Derrick1.9. Name of parish priest and/or contact(s) made on site: Unaccompanied1.10. Associated buildings: None1.11. Bibliographic references:West Lindsey District Council: Caistor Conservation Area Appraisal, ndBailey, Philip S.C.J.: The Roman Catholic Mission and Chapel, Osgodby,Lincolnshire, 2 nd edition, 2002Nottingham Diocesan Yearbook, 1960Part 2: The building, its contents and its setting2.1. Historical backgroundIn 1958 a 19 th century former printing works in Bank Lane was acquired for Catholicworship; prior to that various premises around the town had been used, including theBritish Legion hall and the Red Lion public house. The church was opened by BishopEllis on 8 May 1960 and was consecrated in 1991.More recently (c2000) an addition has been built, providing an entrance lobby,sacristy and additional worship space. The church is a chapel of ease, served fromMarket Rasen.2.2. The building and its principal fittings and furnishingsA two storey building, longitudinal on plan, with its gable end facing towards BankLane. The building is faced in ashlared render on the street and inner flank returnwalls, and in red brick on the outer flank wall. The roof is clad with Welsh slates.Tall narrow windows on the front elevation with arched heads, probably belonging tothe 1960 adaptation; the flank elevations retain their original fenestration on theupper floor, with Yorkshire sliding sash windows. The entrance is via the modernaddition to one side, set back from the road behind a tall brick boundary wall andrendered gate piers with a stone coping. The new addition is of brick, with a renderedgable and a pointed arched entrance. This leads into a small lobby and on into themain body of the church. This is now L-shaped on plan, consisting of a nave (in theoriginal building) and transept (in the addition). White painted plastered walls andlow flat ceiling in the nave; the transept top lit. The sanctuary and altar are placed onthe diagonal so as to face towards both areas of congregational seating. A straightflight of stairs from the back of the original nave leads to an upper room which hasexposed tie beams and is ceiled below collar level; this contains a class room andsmall kitchen. The church furnishings are mainly modern and not of particular note,apart from (at the back of the nave) two 19 th century stained glass windows depictingSt John the Evangelist and St Anne, brought here from E.W. Pugin’s church atLongton, Stoke-on-Trent after that church was demolished in 1968.2.3. The church in its settingCaistor is of Roman origin, and the church is within what is believed to be the area ofthe Roman town. It later became a market town, and Bank Street lies just off the

Market Place. It occupies a tightly drawn site, which was probably a medievalburgage plot.2.4. Listed statusThe church is not listed and is not considered to be a candidate for listing. However itis identified in the Caistor Conservation Area Appraisal as an important building onthe conservation area.Part 3: Managing the building into its future3.1. ConditionFair. The render is in poor condition.3.2. Ancillary facilitiesThere is a small kitchen and a meeting room/school room on the upper floor.3.3. AccessThere is no on-site parking. The church is fully accessible, but the upper floorfacilities are only accessible to the able-bodied.3.4. To what extent is the building amenable or vulnerable to change?• As a consequence of remaining in use as a place of worship: The internalspace is flexible and can be adapted as required; there are no heritageconstraints. There is very little if any scope for further enlargement on thesite.• As a consequence of being closed as a place of worship and passing intoalternative secular use: The building has been identified as important in theconservation area, and in the event of closure an appropriate alternative use islikely to be sought by the local authority, rather than demolition. The buildingwould lend itself to a number of alternative uses, including residential. Anybelow-ground disturbance is likely to have archaeological implications.3.5. Category: 3