Interior of Church of Our Lady, Lillington

Image: © A J Paxton Taken: 10 Sep 2023

This Catholic church was built in 1962-3 to designs by Henry Fedeski, and is an early response to the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, which was then in session. The church has a conventional cruciform (cross-shaped) plan, but the altar was placed, not at the east end, as was traditional, but under the crossing, bringing priest and altar closer to the congregation. It stands on a raised sanctuary and is covered by a tester or canopy. On the altar and on the east wall behind it can be seen the Chi-Rho symbol, an ancient symbol for Christ comprising the letters X (Chi) and P (Rho), which begin the word Christ in Greek; below it are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, Alpha & Omega, representing Christ as the beginning and end of all things. The large lettering in mosaic on the east end is by Steven Sykes. The dalle-de-verre stained glass is by Dom Charles Norris, who was a Benedictine monk of Buckfast Abbey. The church is a listed building; see the listing at the Historic England site https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1402200?section=official-list-entry .

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