St Luke's Church, Lower Whitley

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St Luke's Church, Lower Whitley

St Luke's Church, Lower Whitley
St Luke's Church, Lower Whitley (Cheshire)
St Luke's Church, Lower Whitley
Shown within Cheshire
Basic information
Location Lower Whitley, Cheshire, England
Geographic coordinates 53°18′21″N 2°34′43″W / 53.3058, -2.5786Coordinates: 53°18′21″N 2°34′43″W / 53.3058, -2.5786
Religious affiliation Anglican
District Diocese of Chester
Ecclesiastical status Parish church
Architectural description
Architectural type Church
Specifications
Materials Brown brick with sandstone dressings, grey slate roof
Bell turret of stone with slate spire

St Luke's Church, Lower Whitley is in the village of Lower Whitley, in the civil parish of Whitley, Cheshire, England (grid reference SJ614789). It is a Grade II* listed building.[1]

Contents

[edit] History

The church on this site was originally a chapel of ease in the parish of Great Budworth. Its date of foundation is not known but in the later part of the 16th century it was in a "very ruinous condition" and was rebuilt on its original foundations by Thomas Touchet. Alterations were made during the 19th century, the major ones being in 1880 when the gallery was removed from the west end, a new organ was installed on the south side, a new pulpit was installed and the font was moved.[2] During this time a polygonal apse was added at the east end.[3]

[edit] Structure

The church is built in brown brick with sandstone dressings; the roof is of grey slates.[1] The plan consists of a west porch, a nave of four bays and a chancel of three bays.[2] The sanctuary is a polygonal apse.[4] At the northwest is a stone bell turret with a slate spire containing one bell.[1]

[edit] Fittings and furniture

The hammerbeam roof is intricately carved and is described as being "outstanding".[1] The parish baptism registers begin in 1777.[2]

[edit] External features

In the churchyard is a sundial dating probably from the mid 18th century. It is listed Grade II.[5] The lychgate is a memorial to the First World War and incorporates a clock.[6]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b c d Images of England: Church of St Luke, Lower Whitley. English Heritage. Retrieved on 2007-09-03.
  2. ^ a b c Richards, Raymond (1947). Old Cheshire Churches. London: B. T Batsford, 204–205. 
  3. ^ Salter, Mark (1995). The Old Parish Churches of Cheshire. Malvern: Folly Publications, 45. ISBN 1871731232. 
  4. ^ Pevsner, Nikolaus; Edward Hubbard [1971] (2003). The Buildings of England: Cheshire. New Haven: Yale University Press, 259. ISBN 0 300 09588 0. 
  5. ^ Images of England: Sundial in churchyard. English Heritage. Retrieved on 2007-11-26.
  6. ^ Morant, Roland W. (1989). Cheshire Churches. Birkenhead: Countyvise, 147. ISBN 0 907768 18 0.