‘I can remember looking at this and thinking it reminded me of Coventry Cathedral’
People look at Wraxall Builders’ plans for the Church of the Good Shepherd in Batheaston at a consultation event inside the church on Wednesday June 10(Image: John Wimperis)
An overlooked architectural gem tucked away in a Somerset village is set to be saved from demolition and turned into a daycare centre.
Batheaston is a village on the edge of Bath featuring small winding footpaths and pretty Georgian cottages. But when local architect Martin Fisher designed its new Catholic church in the 1960s, he decided to lean into the modernism of the times.
The Church of the Good Shepherd stands out from the village both literally and stylistically. The angular roof which can be seen rising above the buildings of the High Street is a bold twist on the typical idea of a church spire, using new materials and a new architectural style — brutalism.
From the outside, the overwhelming impression of the building is grey. The walls are pouted concrete blocks and the only hint of the colour within is a small blue window jutting out of the church, which forms an alcove featuring a Madonna and Child statue.
The Church of the Good Shepherd in Batheaston(Image: John Wimperis)
The church’s large window — which takes up almost the entirety of the south and east walls beneath the “spire” — appears from outside to be almost as grey as the concrete. But inside, the light shining through it from across the valley turns the window into a wall of colour.
The true nature of the window is only visible outside the church when it is dark out and the lights inside the church are turned on for a service. But it has been years since this sight has been seen. With a declining congregation, the church never reopened after the Covid-19 lockdown.
Last year, Bath and North East Somerset Council granted planning permission for it to be demolished and replaced with houses. Some in the village welcomed the decision to demolish what they saw as “a disproportionate and ugly mistake,” but other voices — from both the village and from conservation experts — called for it to be saved.
The window inside the Church of the Good Shepherd in Batheaston(Image: John Wimperis)
“This would be known as the ‘sack of Batheaston’ if demolition is granted — an iconic building loved by many and disliked by some too,” one local commented on the planning application. More than 800 people signed a petition urging the Diocese of Clifton to give them the opportunity to buy the church for a community use.
The Council for British Archaeology hailed the building as “a characteristic and interesting example of mid-twentieth century religious architecture.” Bath and North East Somerset Council conservation officer Caroline Power had the building locally listed, although it was not nationally listed. She said: “The church is a landmark structure that contributes towards the character of the locality and is worthy of retention, despite its contrasting materiality and built form.”
Now, despite planning permission for the demolition being granted, the preferred bidder to buy the church is a firm who wants to keep the building and to turn it into a children’s nursery to provide daycare in the village. Wraxall Builders is a construction firm based in the village who saw the petition to save the church. Wraxall Builders’s Henry Channer. He said: “I personally really like the building.”
Henry Channer of Wraxall Builders, Charlotte Forrester of Lookout Day Nursery, and Rhodie Jones of Elements Studio(Image: John Wimperis)
He added: “We have been looking for a new office for some time.” The firm wants to move into the undercroft while turning the main space upstairs into a nursery. Mr Channer said: “Our office will just be an office but the childcare space in the middle of Batheaston will be really valuable for the village.”
Charlotte Forrester, who runs the Lookout Day Nursery in Monkton Farleigh, plans to open a second site in the former church. She said: “It’s a really exciting scheme.”
It’s estimated that there are about 200 children in the village who are having to leave Batheaston for childcare elsewhere, and the new nursery could provide places for up to 75 children to access childcare in the village. Ms Forrester said: “It’s about trying to think about how we keep kids in the community; it’s so important for identity.”
Wraxall Builders’ plans for the church(Image: John Wimperis)
While the church-turned-nursery will be an impressive space, Ms Forrester said she also had a real focus on the outdoors. She said: “ We have got so much we can do in the community: walking down to the river, the secret garden, there’s allotments.”
A consultation event on Wednesday June 10 allowed parishioners inside the church for the first time since it closed in March 2020 to have a look at the plans. A crowd made up of Batheaston locals, alongside some architecture enthusiasts from further afield, milled about the large open space where the pews used to be.
For David Yeo, it was the first time he had been back to the church since the 1960s. His father, a friend of the architect, had brought him along to see it being built. He said: “I just loved anything quirky. I can remember looking at this and thinking it reminded me of Coventry Cathedral, as I had just recently been.”
David Yeo, who visted the church as when it was being built in the 1960s(Image: John Wimperis)
He added: “I think what they plan to do is marvellous; it’s using the space. But it’s just fantastic it’s not pulling it down.”
Wraxall Builders are the Diocese of Clifton’s preferred bidder but still need to complete on the sale. Their plans will then need to secure planning permission from Bath and North East Somerset Council.
The company hopes to submit a planning application within a matter of weeks.