The Building, and some interesting contents

Read Summaries below: Church Room and Organ | Main Foyer and Works of Art

Carrs Lane Church Centre, completed in 1970, was designed by Messrs Denys Hinton and Partners.

It received a Civic Trust Award in 1972.  Built of engineering bricks to reflect the industrial city, the austere but dramatic exterior hides a welcoming and comfortable interior.

The Carrs Lane Cross outside the main entrance, over-looking Moor Street Queensway, is the largest free-standing Cross in the country. It is made of CorTen steel, which over the years has formed a black rust coating, preventing further rusting.

The Church Room and Organ

Magnificent, simple - as befits a non-conformist church - it is light, open and spacious, seating up to 350 (including the gallery).

The comfortable seating is in sets of 2 or 3 and easily moveable, like all the furniture except the platform and Cross.  The room is therefore extremely flexible.
Features include:

• A large plain wooden sanctuary cross, providing a focus for worship.
• A contemporary brass font - designed and made in 1970 by a young church member - is moveable.
• A three-manual organ by Hill, Norman & Beard; and a grand piano.
• Plaques from the previous building are displayed on a wall at the back of the room, commemorating the service of some past ministers and members.

The Main Foyer and Works of Art

The Main Foyer is on the upper ground floor, giving access to Reception, the Church Room, the Fair Trade Shop, and the Quiet Room; and to the stairs to other floors.

It was extensively refurbished in 2008, to be much lighter and to have better Reception and Shop areas.

There are several Works of Art, in contrasting styles:

• Statue of Dr R W Dale (1897) by Edward Onslow Ford, a fine marble commemorating the famous 19th century minister of Carrs Lane Chapel.
• A Mural in Nails (1971) by Edward Bawden, CBE, RA, commemorating previous chapel buildings and ministers, is on the north wall.
• The Dance of Life mural (1993), by a group of Nicaraguan artists who created it at Carrs Lane , is on permanent loan from Oxfam, who sponsored it.

The Lower Foyer also has a Work of Art:

• The Bread of Life mural (1990) by Gabrielle Oliver, painted on a range of cupboards, shows agricultural scenes and an open-air communion in a third world country.