St Mary's Church, Handbridge
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| St Mary's Church, Handbridge | |
St Mary's Church, Handbridge |
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  Shown within Cheshire
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| Basic information | |
|---|---|
| Location | Handbridge, Chester, Cheshire, England |
| Geographic coordinates | Coordinates: |
| Religious affiliation | Anglican |
| District | Diocese of Chester |
| Ecclesiastical status | Parish church |
| Architectural description | |
| Architect(s) | F. B. Wade P. H. Lockwood |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Architectural style | Gothic Revival |
| Year completed | 1914 |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Red sandstone with slate roofs |
St Mary's Church, Handbridge is in Handbridge, an area south of the River Dee, in the city of Chester, Cheshire, England (grid reference SJ406655). It is also known as the Church of St Mary-without-the-Walls. The church is a Grade II* listed building.[1] It is an active parish church.[2]
Contents |
[edit] History
The church was built between 1885 and 1887 to a design by F. B. Wade for the first Duke of Westminster.[3] A porch was added on the south face of the tower in 1914 which was designed by P. H. Lockwood.[1]
[edit] Structure
The church is built in red sandstone with Westmorland green slate roofs. Its plan consists of a five-bay nave with a clerestory, a three-bay chancel, a chapel at the southeast, an organ chamber and vestry, and two south porches and a north porch. At the west end is a three-stage tower with a recessed spire. It has clock faces to the north, west and south, paired louvred bell-openings on each face, a machicolated parapet, two pinnacles at each corner, lucarnes to each cardinal face of the spire and a weathervane.[1]
[edit] Fittings and furnishings
The baptistry is in the tower and has an encaustic tiled floor and a stone font with an oak cover. The stained glass in the baptsitry is dated 1887 and is by by Edward Frampton. It depicts Christ's baptism. In the baptistry is a portrait memorial dated 1900 to the first Duke of Westminster. The nave is floored with wood blocks. There are three steps up to the chancel with wrought iron rails. The chancel has a mosaic floor. The southeast chapel has a wrought iron screen. The pulpit and lectern are in oak. To the north of the chancel is a sedilia. The east window is probably by Frampton.[1] Pevsner considers that the reredos is "the most interesting piece in the church". It is dated 1888 and was designed by Frederic Shields and made in cloisonné by Clement Heaton. The church plate has been moved from St Mary-on-the-Hill and includes a cup and cover from the Elizabethan era, a credence paten dated 1638, a large paten dated 1683, flagons dated 1711–12 and 1712–13, a flagon dated 1734, a spoon dated 1750, and an alms dish dated 1822.[3]
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c d Images of England: Church of St Mary, Handbridge. English Heritage. Retrieved on 2008-01-29.
- ^ St Mary's Church. Overleigh St Mary’s CE Primary School. Retrieved on 2008-01-29.
- ^ a b Pevsner, Nikolaus; Edward Hubbard [1971] (2003). The Buildings of England: Cheshire. New Haven: Yale University Press, 174. ISBN 0 300 09588 0.
