PRN 23816 The Church of the Immaculate Conception was built in 1877 from funds provided by Mr Thomas Arthur Young, Lord of the Manor of Kingerby, who had purchased the site in 1874. Construction began in 1876 and the first stage was completed in 1877. The architects were M. E. Hadfield of Sheffield and the building work was carried out by Messrs. S. Dawson and Sons. Building work continued with the extended church, sanctuary and a confraternity in honour of Our Lady of Lourdes completed in 1879. The church was built mainly of smooth imperial orange/red brickwork with local stone bullnosed string-coursing and dressings. Entrance doorways are Gothic pointed arches with brick voussoirs. The west gable is buttressed, with three inset stone carvings beneath the west window, which consists of five staged lancet windows in stone with a stone hood mould. The east gable also features stone carvings, in particular immediately beneath the east window the inscription 'Blessed be Jesus Christ True God and True Man’. The east window consists of three staged lancet windows in stone with a pointed relieving arch in brick voussoirs over. The large sanctuary windows were donated in 1881. The church was consecrated in 1904 by Dr Heylen, the Lord Bishop of Namur, and former Lord Abbott of Tongerloo. In 1908 a replica of the Lourdes Grotto was built between the south wall of the church and 1a Henrietta Street, the grotto being the work of Jacques Coomans of Antwerp.{1} There were also two houses on the site when it was purchased in 1874, No.s 52 and 54 St Thomas's Street. The two houses are typical mid to late Victorian domestic buildings with two floors and offshoot accommodation to the rear, built from smooth-faced orange/red brick with slate roofs and much adapted and extended over time. Number 54 was originally converted to become the priory, although this was later moved to its present location at No. 52, probably when the adjacent school hall was constructed. Notable architectural details are the dentilated timber eaves to No. 54 and the principal door entrance surrounds. Externally, No. 54 is finer in architectural detail than No. 52, which appears to have been built at a later date. Both houses are double bay fronted with large timber bay windows typical of their period with painted stonework sills and dressings to the brickwork.{1} In addition to the extended church, the house at 1a Henrietta Street was built as a caretaker’s residence and St Norbert’s School was also built with an entrance off Henrietta Street, featuring the same orange/red brickwork and similar stonework to the neighbouring church. The doors and windows of the school hall are flat arches with brick voussoirs. A full first floor was later added to the school hall by raising the roof; evidence of this can still be seen in the facing brickwork. Access was achieved by means of concrete stairs at the rear of the hall, also providing access to the choir loft introduced in the 1930s. The roof of the church, school hall and 1a Henrietta Street is steeply pitched at circa fifty-five degrees, with a plain clay tiled covering. All the buildings have a deep overhanging eaves detail and cast iron rainwater goods.{1} By 1940, the church and other buildings had fallen into a state of disrepair and much restoration work was required, which was mostly completed by 1950. The church has remained principally unchanged since this date. By 1962 the neighbouring St Norbert’s School had moved to new premises, enabling the old school halls to be occupied by the church for use as the church hall. The church halls and houses were in need of modernisation by 1982, with work being carried out between 1985 and 1987. Unfortunately during this time many of the original internal features of the domestic properties were lost, with little evidence for these now remaining. All the decorative plasterwork was removed, along with picture rails and fireplaces.{1} Building recording was carried out on the Church of the Immaculate Conception and ancillary buildings in 2002 prior to demolition work taking place.{1} A new church was built, with the same name, after the demolition took place. From satellite imagery it appears as if the church had finished being constructed by April 2005. {3}