St Peter's Church, Heswall

St Peter's Church is in the town of Heswall, Wirral, Merseyside, England. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.[1] It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of Wirral North.[2]

St Peter's Church, Heswall
St Peter's Church, Heswall, from the south
St Peter's Church, Heswall
Location in Merseyside
OS grid referenceSJ 266 812
LocationHeswall, Wirral, Merseyside
CountryEngland
DenominationAnglican
ChurchmanshipOpen Evangelical
WebsiteParish of Heswall
History
StatusParish church
DedicationSt Peter
Architecture
Functional statusActive
Heritage designationGrade II*
Designated15 November 1962
Architect(s)J. Francis Doyle
Architectural typeChurch
StyleGothic, Gothic Revival
Groundbreaking1306
Completed1893
Specifications
MaterialsSandstone, slate roof
Administration
ParishHeswall
DeaneryWirral North
ArchdeaconryChester
DioceseChester
ProvinceYork
Clergy
RectorRev. Martin Cannam
Assistant priest(s)Revd Alan Leach
Curate(s)Revd Alan Leach
Revd Richard Sherratt
Minister(s)Revd. Jacky Wise
Laity
Reader(s)Peter Twin, Brenda Wilson, Lyn Weston
Churchwarden(s)Ron Kearney

History

The oldest part of the church is the base of the tower which dates from 1306.[3] The upper parts were added in the late 15th century.[1] The rest of the church was rebuilt in 1739 in Neoclassical style. In 1875, the church was struck by lightning and seriously damaged.[3] In 1879 the church, other than the tower, was completely rebuilt by J. Francis Doyle. In 1893 the south chancel chapel was built, also by Doyle.[4]

Architecture

Exterior

The church is built in sandstone with a slate roof.[5] Its plan consists of a nave with clerestory, north and south aisles, a tower at the southwest, and a chancel with a north vestry and a south chapel. The tower has diagonal west buttresses and a three-light west window. The bell stage has three-light louvred bell openings and is in Perpendicular style. Above this is a cornice and an embattled parapet. At the southeast is a square stair turret.[1]

Interior

After the 19th century restoration, some of the memorials were moved to the base of the tower. These include a black marble tablet to John Glegg, who died in 1619, depicting his kneeling figure, a white and grey marble tablet in memory of Katherine Glegg who died in 1666, and an alabaster plaque with the seal of William de Hesele Wele who lived in the early 14th century.[4] The baluster font dates from the 18th century. The chandelier under the tower is from the late 17th century.[6] The reredos and much of the stained glass is by Kempe.[1] At the west end of the church are the Royal arms of George III.[3] The organ was built in 1947 by Rushworth and Dreaper.[7] There is a ring of eight bells, all of which were recast in 1978 by John Taylor and Company.[8] The parish registers begin in 1539 and churchwardens' accounts in 1778.[3]

External features

In the churchyard is a stone sundial dated 1726 consisting of a baluster-shaped shaft on two circular steps. On the top of this is an octagonal plate and a gnomon.[9] The churchyard also contains the war graves of fourteen Commonwealth service personnel of World War I (the oldest being 74-year-old Lieutenant-Colonel W. Alexander of the Royal Army Medical Corps) and ten of World War II.[10]

gollark: Also because programming has less of a credentialism thing, I guess?
gollark: Probably because it's newer and thus the education system is bad at it, and also because you can learn it well from just a computer and network connection.
gollark: > My coding teacher is just google and YouTubeProgramming does seem to be something people teach themselves a lot.
gollark: I've had pretty good maths teachers consistently, at least.
gollark: ħæħ indeed.

See also

References
  1. Historic England, "Church of St Peter, Heswall (1320306)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 4 August 2012
  2. St Peter, Heswall, Church of England, retrieved 16 May 2011
  3. Richards, Raymond (1947), Old Cheshire Churches, London: Batsford, pp. 184–186
  4. Morant, Roland W. (1989), Cheshire Churches, Birkenhead: Countyvise, p. 141, ISBN 0-907768-18-0
  5. Heritage Churches, Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, retrieved 17 December 2007
  6. Hartwell, Claire; Hyde, Matthew; Hubbard, Edward; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2011) [1971], Cheshire, The Buildings of England, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, pp. 396–397, ISBN 978-0-300-17043-6
  7. "NPOR J00081", National Pipe Organ Register, British Institute of Organ Studies, retrieved 2 July 2020
  8. Details of the Present Bells, Heswall, St Peter, archived from the original on 19 July 2011, retrieved 10 August 2008
  9. Historic England, "Sundial to west of Church of St Peter, Heswall (1075373)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 4 August 2012
  10. HESWALL (ST. PETER) CHURCHYARD, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, retrieved 4 February 2013

Media related to St Peter's Church, Heswall at Wikimedia Commons

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.