St Mary's and St Helen's Church, Neston

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St Mary's and St Helen's Church, Neston
St Mary's and St Helen's Church, Neston (Cheshire)
St Mary's and St Helen's Church, Neston
Shown within Cheshire
Basic information
Location Neston, Cheshire, England
Geographic coordinates 53°17′24″N 3°03′41″W / 53.2899, -3.0615Coordinates: 53°17′24″N 3°03′41″W / 53.2899, -3.0615
Religious affiliation Anglican
District Diocese of Chester
Ecclesiastical status Parish church
Leadership Revd. Neill Robb, Vicar
Architectural description
Architect(s) J. Francis Doyle
Architectural type Church
Architectural style Gothic, Gothic revival
Year completed 1875
Specifications
Materials Red sandstone
Slate tiled roof with red tile cresting

St Mary's and St Helen's Church, Neston is in the town of Neston, Cheshire, England (grid reference SJ292775). It is a Grade II* listed building.[1]

Contents

[edit] History

The presence of a priest at Neston is recorded in the Domesday Book. The earliest written evidence of a church on the site dates from around 1170 when a church was founded by Ralph de Montalt, a baron of the court of the Earl of Chester. It is likely that an earlier church was on the site because when the floor was being relaid during the 19th century, fragments of pre-Conquest crosses and Saxon carvings were found.[2] These fragments are now mounted at the west end of the church.[1] During the 18th century there was disagreement between some of the parishioners and the churchwardens when galleries were erected. The addition of the galleries caused damage to the fabric of the church and in 1871 an inspecting architect reported that the building was unsafe.[2] Consequently in 1874–75 the main body of the church was rebuilt by J. Francis Doyle, reusing some of the Norman material[3] in Early English style.[2]

[edit] Structure

The church is built in sandstone. The roofs are of slate with a red tile ridge.[1] The tower is the only old part of the church remaining. Richards describes it as "a rugged gargoyled pile of masonry with very little architectural refinement". The lower part probably includes some re-used Norman material. An additional storey was added to the tower in 1854.[2] The body of the church consists of a six-bay nave with aisles, a two-bay chancel with a north vestry, and a south porch.[1] The aisles are gabled and the nave has a clerestory.[4]

[edit] Fittings and furniture

The font dates from the 16th century; it is octagonal with quatrefoiled panels. The only memorial of importance is a carved stone in memory of a 14th century priest.[2] Some of the stained glass windows are designed by Edward Burne-Jones[5] and made by Morris & Co.; others are by Kempe.[1] Between the tower and the nave are elaborate wrought iron gates to the memory of Reginald Bushell who died in 1904.[6]

The ring is of eight bells, four of which are dated 1731. The communion plate includes patens dated 1683 and 1752, and a chalice donated in 1782. The parish registers begin in 1559 and record the baptism in the church in 1761 of Emma Lyon, who was later to become Lady Hamilton. The churchwardens' accounts date from 1701.[2]

[edit] External features

In the churchyard is a sundial dated 1717 consisting of a red sandstone vase-baluster on a a square base. It is listed Grade II.[7] Close to the church and also listed Grade II is a hearse house built in red sandstone with a slate roof and red ridge tiles.[8]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e Images of England: Church of St Mary and St Helen, Neston. English Heritage. Retrieved on 2007-10-04.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Richards, Raymond (1947). Old Cheshire Churches. London: B. T Batsford, 255–259. 
  3. ^ Salter, Mark (1995). The Old Parish Churches of Cheshire. Malvern: Folly Publications, 58. ISBN 1871731232. 
  4. ^ Pevsner, Nikolaus; Edward Hubbard [1971] (2003). The Buildings of England: Cheshire. New Haven: Yale University Press, 290–291. ISBN 0 300 09588 0. 
  5. ^ Tourism honour for a fine old church. The Church of England: Diocese of Chester. Retrieved on 2007-10-05.
  6. ^ Morant, Roland W. (1989). Cheshire Churches. Birkenhead: Countyvise, 161. ISBN 0 907768 18 0. 
  7. ^ Images of England: Sundial. English Heritage. Retrieved on 2007-11-30.
  8. ^ Images of England: Hearse house. English Heritage. Retrieved on 2007-11-30.