St Oswald's Church, Brereton
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| St Oswald's Church, Brereton | |
St Oswald's Church, Brereton |
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  Shown within Cheshire
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| Basic information | |
|---|---|
| Location | Brererton Green, Cheshire, England |
| Geographic coordinates | Coordinates: |
| Religious affiliation | Anglican |
| District | Diocese of Chester |
| Ecclesiastical status | Parish church |
| Architectural description | |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Architectural style | Perpendicular |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Red sandstone |
St Oswald's Church, Brereton is situated to the north of the village of Brereton Green, adjacent to Brereton Hall, in the civil parish of Brereton, Cheshire, England on the banks of the River Croco (grid reference SJ782648). It is a Grade II* listed building and is described as "an unusually complete late Perpendicular church".[1]
Contents |
[edit] History
A chapel was on the site of the church in the reign of Richard I. At that time it was in the parish of Astbury and it became a parish church in the reign of Henry VIII.[2] The present church dates from around 1550 and it was restored in 1903.[1]
[edit] Structure
The church is built in perpendicular style in red sandstone. Its plan consists of a tower at the west end, a four-bay nave with clerestory, north and south aisles and a two-bay chancel. The tower is embraced by the west ends of the aisles.[3] It is surmounted by battlements and crocketed pinnacles. There is no chancel arch but the chancel roof is lower than that of the nave. The nave and aisle roofs have parapets while the chancel is embattled.[2]
[edit] Fittings and furniture
The roofs of the nave and chancel are camber beamed and panelled.[1] The altar rails which date from the 17th century are extremely ornamental. The altar table and the richly carved sanctuary chair are from the middle of the 17th century and the octagonal font dated is 1660.[2] The west window dated 1853 is by William Wailes.[1] The east window has five lights. In the sanctuary is a monument to William Brereton, who died in 1618, and in the south aisle is a monument to William Smethwick, who died in 1643, and his wife Frances, who died in 1632.[4] The church plate includes a chalice dated 1653–54 and a chalice and paten dated 1660–61.[5] The ring is of five bells, three of which are dated 1634. The parish registers begin in 1538.[2]
[edit] External features
In the churchyard is a stone sundial of unusual design dating probably from the 18th century. It consists of a circular plinth on a circular stone step which carries a battered cruciform stem with an octagonal cap. The dial and gnomon are copper. It is listed Grade II.[6] At the churchyard gate is an 18th century mounting block.[4]
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c d Images of England: Church of St Oswald, Brereton. English Heritage. Retrieved on 2007-08-26.
- ^ a b c d Richards, Raymond (1947). Old Cheshire Churches. London: Batsford, 68-70.
- ^ Salter, Mark (1995). The Old Parish Churches of Cheshire. Malvern: Folly Publications, 25. ISBN 1871731232.
- ^ a b Morant, Roland W. (1989). Cheshire Churches. Birkenhead: Countyvise, 113–114. ISBN 0 907768 18 0.
- ^ Pevsner, Nikolaus; Edward Hubbard [1971] (2003). The Buildings of England: Cheshire. New Haven: Yale University Press, 114. ISBN 0 300 09588 0.
- ^ Images of England: Sundial. English Heritage. Retrieved on 2007-10-28.
