St Michael's Church, Shotwick

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St Michael's Church, Shotwick

St Michael's Church, Shotwick
St Michael's Church, Shotwick (Cheshire)
St Michael's Church, Shotwick
Shown within Cheshire
Basic information
Location Shotwick, Cheshire, England
Geographic coordinates 53°14′18″N 2°59′39″W / 53.2383, -2.9942Coordinates: 53°14′18″N 2°59′39″W / 53.2383, -2.9942
Religious affiliation Anglican
District Diocese of Chester
Ecclesiastical status Parish church
Architectural description
Architectural type Church
Architectural style Norman, Gothic
Specifications
Materials Red sandstone
Roof of Welsh slate and tiles

St Michael's Church, Shotwick is in the village of Shotwick, Cheshire, England (grid reference SJ336717). It is a Grade I listed building.[1] It has a Norman doorway but most of the church dates from the medieval period. Its furniture includes some ancient items. In the churchyard are a number of structures which have been listed as grade II.

Contents

[edit] History

A Norman church was in existence at the time of the Domesday Book and was largely rebuilt in the 14th century.[2] Restorations were carried out in 1851[1] and in the 1970s.[3]

[edit] Structure

The church is built from red sandstone, the chancel and porch are roofed with Welsh slate while the rest of the roof is covered in purple tiles.[1] The south doorway is Norman in style, decorated with chevrons but rather obscured by a porch of later date.[2] The porch contains stone benches and on its walls are knife-sharpening slots.[1] The tower is Perpendicular in style[2] and dates from around 1500.[4] The plan of the church consists of a tower at the west end in line with a nave of four bays and a chancel of three bays. There is a north aisle with a chapel at the west end extending as far as the chancel.[5]

[edit] Fittings and furniture

All the pews are box pews[1] and are the oldest in Wirral; at one time their doors were fitted with locks and keys.[2] In the north aisle is a canopied churchwardens' pew dated 1709 and a three-decker pulpit. The altar rails date from the late 17th or early 18th century and the lectern from the late 18th century.[2] It has been said that much of this wooden furniture was moved from a church in Chester in 1812.[5] Some of the windows contain 14th century stained glass.[1][6] The brass chandelier dates from the late 18th century.[7] The church plate includes a silver chalice and a pewter flagon both dated 1685. The parish registers date from 1698. The ring consists of six bells, three of them dating from the 17th century.[2]

[edit] External features

In the churchyard the gates, gatepiers and churchyard wall along north side of Shotwick Lane are Grade II listed buildings.[8] Also listed Grade II are the red sandstone sundial consisting of a tall bulbous baluster on square base dated 1720[9] and the tombchests of James Phillips,[10] John Nevett Bennett,[11] Rev M Reay and 4 children,[12] Robert and Martha Ellison,[13] William Briscoe (died 1704) and others,[14] and William Briscoe (died 1723) and others.[15]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f Images of England: Church of St Michael, Shotwick. English Heritage. Retrieved on 2007-07-31.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Richards, Raymond (1947). Old Cheshire Churches. London: Batsford, 296-303. 
  3. ^ Thornber, Craig (2005). A Scrapbook of Cheshire Antiquities: Shotwick, accessed 31 July 2007
  4. ^ St Michael, Shotwick, Cheshire. Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture in Britain and Ireland. Retrieved on 2007-10-13.
  5. ^ a b Salter, Mark (1995). The Old Parish Churches of Cheshire. Malvern: Folly Publications, 68–69. ISBN 1871731232. 
  6. ^ Shotwick, St Michael. Corpus Vitrearum Medii Aevi. Retrieved on 2007-10-13.
  7. ^ Pevsner, Nikolaus; Edward Hubbard [1971] (2003). The Buildings of England: Cheshire. New Haven: Yale University Press, 334. ISBN 0 300 09588 0. 
  8. ^ Images of England: Gates, gatepiers and churchyard wall along north side of Shotwick Lane. English Heritage. Retrieved on 2007-10-13.
  9. ^ Images of England: Sundial in the churchyard of St Michael. English Heritage. Retrieved on 2007-10-13.
  10. ^ Images of England: Tombchest of James Phillips. English Heritage. Retrieved on 2007-10-13.
  11. ^ Images of England: Tombchest of John Nevett Bennett. English Heritage. Retrieved on 2007-10-13.
  12. ^ Images of England: Tombchest of Rev M Reay and 4 children. English Heritage. Retrieved on 2007-10-13.
  13. ^ Images of England: Tombchest of Robert and Martha Ellison. English Heritage. Retrieved on 2007-10-13.
  14. ^ Images of England: Tombchest of William Briscoe (died 1704) and others. English Heritage. Retrieved on 2007-10-13.
  15. ^ Images of England: Tombchest of William Briscoe (died 1723)and others. English Heritage. Retrieved on 2007-10-13.

[edit] External links