Chris Pickford, describes Our Lady's as "the best church of the era following the Second Vatican Council", along the lines of Gerard Goalen's slightly earlier Harlow church".
“The earliest and most impressive of Norris’s abstract schemes is at the Church of Our Lady at Lillington in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire.” - Robert Proctor, Senior Lecturer at University of Bath
“The Catholic church of Our Lady in Lillington is quite simply one of the most stunning modern churches I've ever seen, a little known modernist gem in the heart of Warwickshire that really deserves wider recognition.” - Aidan McRae Thomson, Author and Stained Glass Artist
Our Lady's Church is a beautiful Grade II listed building in the heart of Warwickshire. It is a hidden gem with simply stunning stained glass. The Church is magnificently modern and was created in response to liturgical changes from the Second Vatican Council. This is reflected in the interior with a highly modernist aesthetic, with a central plan and raised sanctuary. Our Lady’s Church is brilliantly embellished with an extensive Clerestory and Ground-floor Chapels with abstract and figurative dalle in simplistically shaped slabs of glass. The wonderful windows form part of worship, with a connection between depiction and devotion throughout the Church. There are visual and biblical links between the different panels, Chapels and other dalle commissions by Norris, demonstrating the importance of Our Lady’s Church and Norris’ other glass works. The main themes of Our Lady’s Church are the movement of the Spirit, Creation, and God’s presence across the whole of sacred history. Another important recurrent motif is the Alpha and Omega. The execution of the biblical word and moralising messages with symbolically glowing glass in rich vibrant colours connects the colours of the glazing scheme to the messages of the church. This website unpacks and deciphers the hidden meanings and messages of the glass at Our Lady’s Church with my original interpretations of the glass to enable everyone to understand the Churches complex iconography.
If you would like to donate to the preservation and conservation of the glass and Grade II listed building please click here.