- St Mary's Church, Weaverham
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St Mary's Church, Weaverham 
St Mary's Church, Weaverham, from the westLocation in Cheshire
St Mary's Church, WeaverhamCoordinates: 53°15′50″N 2°34′33″W / 53.2638°N 2.5758°W OS grid reference SJ 616 743 Location Weaverham, Cheshire Country England Denomination Anglican Website St Mary's, Weaverham History Dedication St Mary the Virgin Architecture Status Parish church Functional status Active Heritage designation Grade I Designated 3 January 1967 Architect(s) Anthony Salvin, John Douglas (restorations) Architectural type Church Style Gothic, Gothic Revival Specifications Materials Red sandstone
Welsh slate roofAdministration Parish Weaverham Deanery Middlewich Archdeaconry Chester Diocese Chester Province York Clergy Vicar(s) Revs Andrew and
Jenny BrownSt Mary's Church, Weaverham is in the village of Weaverham, Cheshire, England. The church has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building.[1] It is an active Anglican parish church in the Diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of Middlewich.[2]
Contents
History
A church was present on the site at the time of the Norman conquest. Edward I gave the advowson of the vicarage to Vale Royal Abbey. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, this was given by Henry VIII to the Bishop of Chester.[3] The west tower dates from the middle of the 15th century and the rest of the church from the 16th century. Restorations were carried out in 1855 by Anthony Salvin, and in 1877 by John Douglas, when the porch and vestry were added.[1]
Architecture
Exterior
The church is built in red sandstone ashlar with a Welsh slate roof.[1] The plan of the church consists of a tower at the west end leading to a five-bay nave and chancel with no architectural division, and north and south aisles terminating in chapels. The church is wider at its west end than at the east end.[4] The chapel at the east end of the south aisle is the Wilbraham (formerly Grange) chapel and that at the east end of the north aisle is the Heath (formerly Crowton) Chapel.[3]
Interior
Both chapels contain memorials to local families,[3] and both chapels have screens dated 1636.[5] In the chancel is an 18th-century chandelier. The octagonal font stands on a plain column and has an ornate Jacobean wooden cover.[1] The chancel panelling has linenfold carving. The altar table is by Chippendale and has cabriole legs and claw feet. The altar rails, originally in the church, were moved to become the back staircase of Hefferston Grange, but have now been restored in the church. The parish chest is early Georgian. The sanctuary chairs come from the William and Mary period.[3] The sidesmen's pew re-used wood from the previous three-decker pulpit which was dated 1774.[5] In the church is a stained glass window presented by John Douglas to commemorate his parents and his sisters.[6] The two-manual organ was made by Walker in 1951.[7] The ring consists of six bells. Two bells dated 1718 are by Abraham Rudhall II, two dated 1796 are by Thomas & James Bilbie and the other two dated 1875 are by Mears & Stainbank of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry.[8] The parish registers begin in 1576 and the churchwardens' accounts in 1630.[3]
External features
In the churchyard are fragments of a Roman road.[3]
See also
- Grade I listed buildings in Cheshire
- List of church restorations, amendments and furniture by John Douglas
References
- ^ a b c d "Church of St Mary, Weaverham", The National Heritage List for England (English Heritage), 2011, http://list.english-heritage.org.uk/resultsingle.aspx?uid=1287233, retrieved 1 May 2011
- ^ St Mary the Virgin, Weaverham, Church of England, http://www.achurchnearyou.com/weaverham-st-mary-the-virgin/, retrieved 11 February 2011
- ^ a b c d e f Richards, Raymond (1947), Old Cheshire Churches, London: Batsford, pp. 345–348
- ^ Salter, Mark (1995), The Old Parish Churches of Cheshire, Malvern: Folly Publications, pp. 78–79, ISBN 1-871731-23-2
- ^ a b Hartwell, Claire; Hyde, Matthew; Hubbard, Edward; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2011) [1971], Cheshire, The Buildings of England, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, pp. 659–660, ISBN 978-0-300-17043-6
- ^ King, Roger, John Douglas 1830–1911, Northwich and District Heritage Society, p. 3
- ^ Weaverham St. Mary the Virgin, British Institute of Organ Studies, http://www.npor.org.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch.cgi?Fn=Rsearch&rec_index=H00045, retrieved 12 August 2008
- ^ Weaverham S Mary, Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers, http://dove.cccbr.org.uk/detail.php?searchString=weaverham&Submit=++Go++&DoveID=WEAVERHAM, retrieved 12 August 2008
Categories:- Church of England churches in Cheshire
- Grade I listed churches
- Grade I listed buildings in Cheshire
- English Gothic architecture
- Gothic Revival architecture in Cheshire
- John Douglas buildings
- Diocese of Chester
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