St Catherine's Church, Over Alderley
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| St Catherine's Church, Over Alderley | |
St Catherine's Church, Over Alderley |
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  Shown within Cheshire
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| Basic information | |
|---|---|
| Location | Over Alderley, Cheshire, England |
| Geographic coordinates | Coordinates: |
| Religious affiliation | Anglican |
| District | Diocese of Chester |
| Year consecrated | 1890 |
| Ecclesiastical status | Parish church |
| Architectural description | |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Year completed | 1840 |
| Specifications | |
| Capacity | 120 |
| Materials | Red brick with buff sandstone dressings Kerridge stone slate roof |
St Catherine's Church, Over Alderley stands in an isolated position in Birtles Lane, near to Birtles Hall, in the civil parish of Over Alderley, Cheshire, England (grid reference SJ863748). It is a Grade II* listed building.[1] It was originally a private chapel for the Hibbert family and is now a parish church. It is unusual in that its tower is octagonal. It contains furnishings and stained glass from Germany and the Netherlands. The church is listed in England's Thousand Best Churches.[2]
Contents |
[edit] History
St Catherine's was built as a private chapel by Thomas Hibbert of Birtles Hall in 1840. It became the parish church of Birtles and Over Alderley in 1890.[3]
[edit] Structure
The church is built in red brick with buff sandstone dressings. It has a Kerridge stone-slate roof with a stone ridge. At its southwest corner is an octagonal tower. The plan of the body of the church consists of a five-bay nave, a short chancel and a south porch. The tower has three stages with stone bands at each stage, single light windows, and is surmounted by an openwork stone lattice balustrade with plain pinnacles.[1]
[edit] Fittings and furnishings
The stained glass and furnishings were collected by the Hibbert family from Germany and the Netherlands.[3] The stained glass came from the Netherlands and dates from the late 16th and early 17th centuries,[4][5] The furnishings include a pulpit dated 1686,[1] a manorial pew made from 17th century carved Flemish oak and a medieval eagle lectern, which may be the earliest of English origin in the county. The two large brass chandeliers are copies of chandeliers in Milan Cathedral. The tower contains eight bells giving a full octave. The bells were donated in 1895 by the three Hibbert sisters.[3]
The internal walls were formerly covered in frescoes by Colonel Hugh Robert Hibbert, son of Thomas, who also built an organ for the chapel. The organ was replaced in 1909 by Peter Conacher of Huddersfield. Improvements and renovations were carried out in 1949, 1951 and 1983.[6] The frescoes were painted over in 1950.[citation needed] In 1999 two etched glass memorials to Major Hugh and Mrs Susan Hibbert by Simon Whistler were installed.[citation needed]
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c Images of England: Church of St Catherine, Over Alderley. English Heritage. Retrieved on 2007-08-26.
- ^ Jenkins, Simon; Paul Barker (2000). England's thousand best churches. London: Penguin. ISBN 0140297952.
- ^ a b c Richards, Raymond (1947). Old Cheshire Churches. London: Batsford, 60–62.
- ^ Salter, Mark (1995). The Old Parish Churches of Cheshire. Malvern: Folly Publications, 24. ISBN 1871731232.
- ^ Birtles, St Catherine. Corpus Vitrearum Medii Aevi (CVMA) of Great Britain (Stained glass). Retrieved on 2007-10-28.
- ^ Cheshire, Birtles, St. Catherine. National Pipe Organ Register. Retrieved on 2007-10-28.
