St Andrew's Church, Bebington

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

St Andrew's Church, Bebington

St Andrew's Church, Bebington
St Andrew's Church, Bebington (Merseyside)
St Andrew's Church, Bebington
Shown within Merseyside
Basic information
Location Bebington, Wirral,
Merseyside, England
Geographic coordinates 53°20′53″N 3°00′05″W / 53.3480, -3.0013Coordinates: 53°20′53″N 3°00′05″W / 53.3480, -3.0013
Religious affiliation Anglican
District Diocese of Chester
Ecclesiastical status Parish church
Leadership Rev. Philip Venables, Rector
Website St Andrew's, Bebington
Architectural description
Architectural type Church
Year completed 1847
Specifications
Materials Sandstone

St Andrew's Church, Bebington is in the town of Bebington, Wirral, Merseyside, England (grid reference SJ333839). It is a Grade I listed building.[1]

Contents

[edit] History

A church built from local Storeton sandstone was present before the Norman Conquest. Some of the stones from this church are still present in the south wall of the present church. A priest in Bebington was recorded in the Domesday Book. The Saxon church was later replaced by a Norman church. Building of the tower started in 1300 and was completed around 50 years later.[2] The church was remodelled in the 14th century, the south aisle was widened and a three-bay chancel was built. In the 16th century rebuilding started at the east end in Perpendicular style. The chancel and chapels were built but the scheme was interrupted by the Reformation. In 1847 the church was reordered and the north arcade was built in Norman style.[3] More recently the church has been modernised by re-siting the rood screen, removing the choirstalls, installing a kitchen and toilets and creating a creche and meeting room in the tower.[2]

[edit] Structure

The church is built in sandstone. Its plan consists of a four bay nave which widens to the east, aisles to the north and south, a three bay chancel with north and south chapels, and a tower protruding from the southwest corner.[4] There is a contrast of styles between the chancel and the chapels, which are perpendicular in style, and the nave, which is mainly Early Decorated.[2][5] Part of the south arcade survives from the Norman church and the north arcade is a copy of this.[6] The tower has deep buttresses, the western two of which are diagonal. On the northern side is a rectangular stair turret. On the west face is a window of two lights and at the second stage is a lancet window. The two-light bell openings are louvred. At the summit is a splay spire with lucarnes.[1] From masons' marks, the lower parts of the tower date from the very early 14th century while the "ringing loft" dates from the middle of that century. The door to the outside of the tower was blocked in the 18th century, when a new door was cut within the church, but was re-opened in 1847. The tower had been rebuilt in 1805 after being struck by lightning. The last work of any significance was carried out in 1905.[7]

[edit] Fittings and furniture

The font is circular but its date is uncertain. The stalls include three seats with misericords depicting a dolphin, a bearded face and a pelican. Four stalls end with poppy-heads. The screens and the reredos in the south chapel are by C. E. Deacon. Stained glass in the north transept is by William Wailes and is dated 1855; that in the south transept is to a design by Henry Holiday for Powell's and is dated 1881 and 1886. Communion plate includes a paten dated 1704–5 and chalices dated 1736 and 1769.[8]

[edit] External features

In the churchyard is a sandstone sundial dated possibly 1764. It consists of a chamfered shaft with octagonal cap, on top of which is a brass plate and gnomon. It is listed Grade II.[9]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b Images of England: Church of St Andrew, Lower Bebington. English Heritage. Retrieved on 2007-12-14.
  2. ^ a b c Our History. Bebington Parish Church. Retrieved on 2007-12-14.
  3. ^ Richards, Raymond (1947). Old Cheshire Churches. London: Batsford, 47–50. 
  4. ^ Salter, Mark (1995). The Old Parish Churches of Cheshire. Malvern: Folly Publications, 23. ISBN 1871731232. 
  5. ^ Morant, Roland W. (1989). Cheshire Churches. Birkenhead: Countyvise, 107&ndash110. ISBN 0 907768 18 0. 
  6. ^ St Andrew, Bebington (Lower), Cheshire. Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture of Great Britain and Ireland. Retrieved on 2007-12-14.
  7. ^ "St Andrew's Bebington" by Richard Lancelyn Green: [ISBN 090776858X]
  8. ^ Pevsner, Nikolaus; Edward Hubbard [1971] (2003). The Buildings of England: Cheshire. New Haven: Yale University Press, 72–73. ISBN 0 300 09588 0. 
  9. ^ Images of England: Sundial. English Heritage. Retrieved on 2007-12-14.