Description : Pevsner's Buildings of South Lancashire

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St Clare's, Arundel Avenue. By Stokes, 1888-90, and a memorable building. The development in the three years from Pearson's St Agnes is striking. Stokes' handles his Gothic with much more individuality, so that the ensemble is far away from any period precedent. Common brick and stone dressing. Long and high nave and no tower, but a turret with spire in the re-entrant angle of N Transept and nave. Sheer E Wall, with the  window broad and high up. characteristic parapet, not embattled, but with occasional rises. On the south side the confessionals project beyond the aisle and are given irregular fenestration as though they were designed today, and left and right of the chancel are long side chapels. The*1 interior is determined by what in German Late Gothic and some Baroque churches is called Wandpfeiler, i.e. wall-piers, really deep buttresses drawn inside to separate chapels. It is the system of *2.Albi too and of Bodley's  *3 Pendlebury of 1874. But Stokes pierces the wall piers to create aisles and gives the aisles a low arcade to the nave-with round arches on piers of elongated lozenge-shape placed traverse to the nave-so as to create a balcony or boxes over. This arcade system is not interrupted for the chancel side chapels. The front parts of the lozenge-shaped piers are carried up as a triangular shafts till they meet a chamfered horizontal band at the top of the wall. The chamfering is exactly one side of the triangle, so that each bay seems to be framed l.r.and top by a boldly bevelled frame. It is a pity the interior is all plastered cream colour and not ashlar faced. Goodart-Rendel complained about this too, but sums up: 'Probably Stoke's best work'.*4 The Presbytery adjoins immediately and is as free in composition. *5 The  hood-mould stops of the doorway are amazing for their date-fully Art Nouveau.

 * 1 St Clare's Interior             *2 Albi                                                    

 *3 Pendlebury

*4  Presbytery  - St Clares                         *5 Door to presbytery - St Clares