IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Valley Road, LEAMINGTON SPA, CV32 7SY

A small estate whose roads are named after racecourses.

The park is on the left. The catholic church and the library are beyond the trees.

The round baptistery has a simple font of Ancaster stone and stained glass of dalle-de-verre by Dom Charles Norris OSB. The Latin text reads SPIRITUS SANGUIS ET AQUA, 'the Spirit, the water and the blood', from 1 John 5 verse 8. When the church was listed in 2011 it was reported that the font had been moved onto the nave, but it is now back in its proper place; see the listing at the Historic England site https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1402200?section=official-list-entry . 'Dalle-de-verre' means 'slab of glass' in French, and is a modern technique in which thick coloured glass is broken into pieces, which are then arranged and set in a frame made from concrete or epoxy resin. The thick pieces have deep, rich colours and bear the imperfections caused by breaking, which refract the light. For examples of Norris' work at Buckfast Abbey, see Image] and Image

The tallest of these blocks of flats in North Leamington Spa forms a landmark that can be seen for many miles around.

This chapel was designed by the architect, Henry Fedeski, as a Mothers' & Babies' Chapel, with a doorway leading to the porch so that noisy babies could be taken discreetly out of the church. The stained glass, here as elsewhere in the building, is by Dom Charles Norris, a monk of Buckfast Abbey in Devon, where his work can also be seen. It is in the modern French tradition of dalle-de-verre; see Image On the church, see the listing at the Historic England site: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1402200?section=official-list-entry . The theme is a disturbing one for mothers and babies: the Instruments of the Passion, by which Christ was betrayed, mocked, tortured and killed. These were a popular theme of late medieval religious art and can be seen on wayside crosses in Catholic countries. The cross is surrounded by a purple band, the robe of mockery which the Roman soldiers placed on Jesus. Also to be seen are the crown of thorns, the INRI sign on the cross, mocking Christ as Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews, the scourge with which the soldiers whipped him, the nails that attached him to the cross, the spear that pierced his side, and the pot of myrrh used by Joseph of Arimathea to anoint his body for burial. We are a long way here from 'prayers with bears', the toy ones at least. It does seem like a monkish comment on the pains of parenthood and the suffering that awaits children in life; the wise men, after all, brought myrrh as one of their gifts to the Christ child.

This Catholic church was built in 1963 to serve the rapidly-growing suburb of Lillington, on the edge of Leamington Spa. The architect was Henry Fedeski, who also designed the neighbouring public library. Both library and church are now listed buildings; the listing for the church can be found at the Historic England site https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1402200?section=official-list-entry .

This picture shows the dalle-de-verre windows from the outside and the frame of concrete or resin (I am not sure which here) into which the slabs of glass are set in this technique. Above the round baptistery can be seen windows in the north transept and the nave. For more on the baptistery and dalle-de-verre, see Image]; for a general view of the church, see Image

Roman Catholic Church in Valley Road was consecrated in 1963.

The transepts, too, have dalle-de-verre stained glass by Dom Charles Norris and the monks of Buckfast Abbey. Many of the designs are abstract, but the north and south windows depict the Annunciation. Here the angel Gabriel is bringing the news to Mary that she will bear the Christ Child. For more information on this church see Image

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 .