The church of the Holy Spirit is located on the crest of Aston Hill, set back on the east side of the road. It was built in 1937-8 in memory of Henry Neville, Baron Gladstone of Hawarden, to designs of architect H S Goodhart-Rendel, nephew of Lady Gladstone who funded its construction.
The church was a new foundation to serve the growing communities of Ewloe and Aston. The design is of Byzantine derivation, the elaborate and boldly massed exterior combined with an interior of considerable refinement and calm. Spaces given strong expression externally are modulated with great subtlety within, the contrasts underscored by the transition from the external brickwork to the smooth concrete of the interior. The reinforced concrete used appears to mark an experiment in the use of this material, creating highly expressive forms.
The church, under Penrhyn slate roofs, consists of nave and sanctuary which are variously enclosed by porches, vestries, choir, transepts and chapel. Numerous low-pitched roofs build up to a shallow drum and low conical roof.
The interior finish is simple and subtle. Smooth concrete vaulting throughout is sprung from a low point to eliminate the need for external buttresses. The simple semi-circular tunnel vault of the nave is broken as a smooth quadripartite vault to define a vestigial crossing: this space opens out to form a transeptual organ chamber to the north, with a curved aisle to its east; to the south a narrow entrance arch and high tripartite window are offset in the corresponding space. Beyond this, the south aisle is stepped in height, delineating an entrance 'narthex', then a side chapel in its easternmost bay. The tunnel vault is resumed over the chancel where it is pierced and top-lit from the dome. The flooring is of red block laid to variable patterns defining the different liturgical areas of the interior. The chancel is floored in stone flags.
Fittings and furnishings include a seventeenth-century Italian Crucifix, the figure in ivory, which once belonged to C E Kempe; a simple stone reredos; and parallel lines of lamp standards defining a central aisle (without fixed benches). windows are leaded with cylinder glass.
Sources:
Cadw Listing description.
E.Hubbard, Buildings of Wales: Clwyd (1986), p.345.

RCAHMW, 30 October 2015