St Mary's Church, Whitegate

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St Mary's Church, Whitegate
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St Mary's Church, Whitegate
St Mary's Church, Whitegate (Cheshire)
St Mary's Church, Whitegate
Shown within Cheshire
Basic information
Location Whitegate, Cheshire, England
Geographic coordinates 53°13′14″N 2°33′23″W / 53.2205, -2.5565Coordinates: 53°13′14″N 2°33′23″W / 53.2205, -2.5565
Religious affiliation Anglican
District Diocese of Chester
Ecclesiastical status Parish church
Website St Mary's Church, Whitegate
Architectural description
Architect(s) John Douglas
Architectural type Church
Year completed 1875
Specifications
Materials Brick with tile roof

St Mary's Church, Whitegate is in the village of Whitegate, Cheshire, England (grid reference SJ628694). It is a Grade II listed building.[1] Pevsner states the "church is placed so happily against trees on a hillside that it makes the perfect, comforting picture of the Victorian village church".[2] It continues to be an active parish church.[3]

Contents

[edit] History

A chapel has stood on this site of the present church since the founding of the Cistercian Abbey of Vale Royal in 1277. The Cistercian were known as the white monks and the name of the village at the gate of the abbey refers to this.[4] A reference is made in an Act of 1542 to a church at the White Gate of Vale Royal Abbey. There are documentary records relating to repairs to the church between 1602 and 1646. In 1715 the church was a wood and plaster structure in a ruinous condition. Around 1728 the church was rebuilt in brick, the aisles were widened and the walls of the nave were raised to allow galleries to be built. In 1874–75 the church was rebuilt by Lord Delamere, the architect being John Douglas.[5]

[edit] Structure

The church is built in brick with a tile roof.[1] Its plan consists of a six-bay nave with aisles, a chancel and a south porch. At the west end is a small tower with an octagonal shingled spire.[5] On its north and south sides are circular clock faces.[2] To the southwest is a vestry.[1] The octagonal timber piers from the previous perpendicular church have been retained.[2]

[edit] Fittings and furniture

The reredos and the chancel arcades date from around 1876–77, which Pevsner considers are not by Douglas.[2] The ring is of eight bells set up to commemorate the Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. A medieval bell had been presented to the church by Thomas Cholmondeley in 1810. The church plate consists of two flagons, a chalice and a paten presented by Essex Cholmondeley in 1832. The parish registers date from 1559.[5]

[edit] External features

The gateposts, which are crowned by balls, are dated 1736. The iron gates were given in memory of Miss Emily Katherine Cholmondeley.[5]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b c Images of England: Church of St Mary, Whitegate. English Heritage. Retrieved on 2007-12-08.
  2. ^ a b c d Pevsner, Nikolaus; Edward Hubbard [1971] (2003). The Buildings of England: Cheshire. New Haven: Yale University Press, 381–382. ISBN 0 300 09588 0. 
  3. ^ St Mary's Church, Whitegate. St Mary's Church, Whitegate. Retrieved on 2008-04-23.
  4. ^ Welcome. St Mary's Church, Whitegate. Retrieved on 2007-12-08.
  5. ^ a b c d Richards, Raymond (1947). Old Cheshire Churches. London: Batsford, 351–355.