The church was built between 1877 and 1878, and was designed by the Lancaster architects Paley and Austin[2] at a cost of £9,000 (equivalent to £1,100,000 in 2023).[3] The land for the church was given by Lord Egerton, who also paid for the church and its parsonage.[4] The church closed in the 1980s, but re-opened around 2005.[5]
The church can be seen in the first set of closing titles of Coronation Street. Nearby St. Clement's Drive was built on the site of Archie Street, which was the model for Coronation Street itself.[citation needed]
Architecture
St Clement's is constructed in red brick and terracotta and has a tiled roof. It is designed in a 13th-century gothic style. Its plan consists of a seven-baynave with a clerestory, a chancel[2] and north and south aisles.[6] Above the chancel is a flèche with cladding in Westmorlandslate. The nave and chancel are divided by buttresses across the aisles. Along the aisles are seven three-light windows. The clerestory contains round windows. The east end contains a five-light window, above which is an arch and gable with three stepped blind lancets, as well as heavy angle buttresses.[2] At the west end is an unusual gabledportal in moulded brick with a roundel in terracotta containing tracery.[4]
Inside the church the arcades are carried on round sandstonepiers.[6] The chancel is floored with Doulton tiles, and on its walls are murals depicting religious scenes, also in Doulton tiles.[2] It also contains a tripartite sedilia.[6] The chancel is vaulted.[4] Part of the nave has been partitioned to form a meeting room.[2] The two-manual organ was built by Willis.[7]
^ abcBrandwood, Geoff; Austin, Tim; Hughes, John; Price, James (2012). The Architecture of Sharpe, Paley and Austin. Swindon: English Heritage. pp. 108, 230. ISBN978-1-84802-049-8.
