Church of St Wilfrid, Northenden
The Church of St Wilfrid in Ford Lane, Northenden, Manchester, England, is an Anglican church of late medieval origins which was substantially re-built in the 19th century by J. S. Crowther.[1] The church was designated a Grade II* listed building on 25 February 1952.[2]
| Church of St Wilfred, Northenden | |
|---|---|
 Church of St Wilfred | |
  Church of St Wilfred, Northenden Location in Manchester | |
| 53.4071°N 2.2535°W | |
| Location | Northenden, Greater Manchester |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Churchmanship | Central |
| History | |
| Status | Parish church |
| Dedication | St Wilfred |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | Grade II* |
| Architectural type | Parish church |
The origin of St Wilfrid's is possibly Saxon, with a mention in the Domesday Book of a "church (at) Norwardine: (held by) Ranulf and Bigot from Earl Hugh."[3] The core of the current church is 15th century.[2] Crowther was commissioned to undertake repairs in 1872 but found that the medieval church was substantially without foundations. He therefore undertook complete rebuilding, except for the Perpendicular tower, in 1873–6.[1] Crowther also prepared plans for the re-building of the tower, but these were not followed through and reconstruction was undertaken instead.[2]
The interior contains some original medieval screens, including one above the doorway in the south chapel which depicts "a pair of tumblers and a monkey sitting on a drum. The tumblers can be read in two ways, so that they really do seem to tumble."[1] The Victorian stained glass is complete, donated either by the Tatton family of nearby Wythenshawe Hall, or the Watkins family of Rose Hill, Northenden[1] Some may be the work of the significant stained glass designer, Charles Eamer Kempe.[4] There is a good selection of funerary monuments "to members of the Tatton and Egerton families including: Robert Tatton (d.1689), aedicule with putti; Mrs Egerton (d.1784), urn with carved flower garland; William Egerton (d.1806), woman lying on sarcophagus; and to Thomas Worthington (d.1856), mourning woman with 3 sarcophagi under weeping willow."[2]
In the large graveyard is the tomb of Sir Edward Watkin, Victorian railway magnate, as well as those of many of the Tatton family.[4] The churchyard also contains war graves of eight service personnel of World War I and three from World War II.[5]
References
- Hartwell et al. 2004, p 462-4
- Stuff, Good. "Church of St Wilfrid, Northenden, Manchester". britishlistedbuildings.co.uk.
- "The Domesday Book Online - Lancashire M-Z". www.domesdaybook.co.uk.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-03-15. Retrieved 2011-04-03.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- CWGC Cemetery Report. Breakdown obtained from casualty record.
Sources
- Hartwell, Clare; Hyde, Matthew; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2004), Lancashire: Manchester and the South East, The Buildings of England, New Haven, CT; London: Yale University Press, ISBN 0-300-10583-5
