St Patrick’s Church, Forest Town

The 19th century saw the expansion of Bolsover from a picturesque market town, dominated  by its Castle, to an important mining centre.  This brought in some Catholic workers, for whom in 1903 a wooden hut in High Street was acquired as a Mass centre, served from Shirebrook. In 1942 a new Mass centre opened briefly in an upper room in the Market Place, but in the following year a property at no. 59 High Street was acquired and an adjacent stone barn fitted up as a chapel. This remained in use until 1967 when the present church was opened, built from designs by John Rochford & Partner of Sheffield and Manchester, seating 197 and costing £20,000. The barn continued to be used as a parish social centre, until sold in 2005 to fund renovation here and at Shirebrook.

The church is situated on a confined site in the centre of the village adjacent to the old barn which previously served as the church.   It is a simple rectangle on plan, comprising a nave and sanctuary, with the sacristies, confessional, baptistery and side altar on the north side.  It has an asymmetrical roof with a raised clerestorey on the south (geographical northwest) side. It is stone faced, with a stone slate roof. The main west front has an asymmetrical arrangement of windows, possibly inspired by Le Corbusier’s chapel at Ronchamp, and a projecting porch with entrance at the side.