St Chad's Church, Wybunbury

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

St Chad's Church, Wybunbury

St Chad's Church, Wybunbury
St Chad's Church, Wybunbury (Cheshire)
St Chad's Church, Wybunbury
Shown within Cheshire
Basic information
Location Wybunbury, Cheshire, England
Geographic coordinates 53°02′45″N 2°26′49″W / 53.0457, -2.4468Coordinates: 53°02′45″N 2°26′49″W / 53.0457, -2.4468
Architectural description
Architectural type Church
Architectural style Gothic
Specifications
Materials Sandstone ashlar, Lead roof

St Chad's Church, Wybunbury was in the village of Wybunbury, Cheshire, England (grid reference SJ700499). The body of the church has been demolished but the tower still stands. The tower is a Grade II* listed building.[1]

Contents

[edit] History

The Domesday Book contains a reference to a priest in Wybunbury. The church was broken into in 1464, the cross was broken and valuables were stolen. The tower was built in the 15th century on the site of the earlier church. Around 1750 it was noted that its foundations were settling and the tower was beginning to lean. In the early 1790s the church was repaired or rebuilt.[2] In 1833 the body of the church was demolished, James Trubshaw attempted to straighten the tower and rebuilt the body of the church in a style loosely based on the previous building. This church was replaced in 1892–93 by a church by James Brooks which in turn was demolished around 1976.[1] The tower was saved from demolition by a group of villagers who formed the Wybunbury Tower Preservation Trust.[3]

[edit] Structure

Only the tower now remains and Richards considers that it is one of the finest towers in Cheshire.[2] It still leans to the north. It is built in sandstone ashlar with a lead roof.[1] The tower is square and has five stages. The west doorway is deeply recessed and immediately above it is a window of three lights. On each side of the door and of the window are niches containing statues, possibly of bishops, while over the window is a fifth niche containing a statue of the Trinity.[2] The fourth stage has a square wrought iron clock face. The fifth stage has two two-light belfry openings. The parapet is battlemented with crocketed pinnacles at the corners.[1]

[edit] Other features

The lych gate still stands and it serves as a war memorial.[4]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b c d Images of England: Tower of former Church of St Chad, Wybunbury. English Heritage. Retrieved on 2007-10-22.
  2. ^ a b c Richards, Raymond (1947). Old Cheshire Churches. London: B. T Batsford, 373–376. 
  3. ^ Official Website. Wybunbury Tower Preservation Trust. Retrieved on 2007-12-11.
  4. ^ Thornber, Craig (2005-04-05). A Scrapbook of Cheshire Antiquities: Wybunbury. Retrieved on 2007-10-22.