[Our correspondent will find much curious information on this subject,
accompanied by some exquisite woodcuts, in Mrs. Jameson's _Poetry of
Sacred and Legendary Art_.]
_Darcy Lever Church_ (Vol. ii., p. 494.), which is referred to by your
correspondent, is the first instance, I believe, of the application of a
new material to the construction of an ecclesiastical edifice. It is built
throughout, walls, tower, and spire, benches and fittings, of terra cotta
from the Ladyshore works. The architect is that accomplished antiquary, Mr.
Sharpe of Lancaster, who furnished the designs of every part, from which
moulds were made, and in these the composition forming the terra cotta was
prepared, and hardened by the application of fire. The style is the purest
and richest Second Pointed, and the effect of the pierced work of the spire
is, as your correspondent observes, very fine when seen from a distance.
There is a rich colour, too, in the material, which has a remarkably
pleasing result upon the eye. But a nearer approach destroys the charm. It
is found to be a "sham." The lines of the mouldings, mullions, etc., are
warped by the heat attendant upon the process of the manufacture. The
exquisite sharpness of outline produced by the chisel is wanting, and there
is (in consequence of the impossibility of undercutting) an absence of that
effect of light and shade which is the characteristic of the mediæval
carvings. The greatest shock is, however, experienced on an examination of
the interior. What at first sight appear to be highly elaborated oaken
bench-ends and seats are only painted earthenware. In point of fact, it is
a POT CHURCH. A similar and larger {28} structure by the same architect,
and in the same material, has been erected near Platt Hall, in the parish
of Manchester.