All Saints Church, Thelwall

All Saints Church, Thelwall
All Saints Church, Thelwall, from the west
All Saints Church, Thelwall Location in Cheshire
Coordinates: 53°22′56″N 2°31′41″W / 53.3821°N 2.52815°W / 53.3821; -2.52815
OS grid reference	SJ 650 875
Location	Thelwall, Cheshire
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Website	All Saints, Thelwall
History
Dedication	All Saints
Architecture
Heritage designation	Grade II
Designated	14 June 1984
Architect(s)	James Mountford Allen William Owen
Architectural type	Church
Style	Gothic Revival
Groundbreaking	1843
Completed	1890
Specifications
Materials	Sandstone with slate roofs
Administration
Parish	All Saints, Thelwall
Deanery	Great Budworth
Archdeaconry	Chester
Diocese	Chester
Province	York

All Saints Church, Thelwall, is in the village of Thelwall, Cheshire, England. The church has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building.^[1] It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of Great Budworth.^[2]

History

The origins of a church or chapel at Thelwall are unclear. It has been thought that a chapel was built by Richard Brooke of Norton Priory but a legal suit in 1663 suggests that there was a chapel on the site before this date. At this time Thelwall was in the parish of Runcorn. In 1663 the chapel on the site was restored by Robert Pickering. After this the chapel fell into disrepair. It was restored again and re-opened in 1782.^[3] By the following century the church was too small for its congregation and in 1843 a new church was built and consecrated.^[4] This consisted of a nave which was designed by J. Mountford Allen.^[5] In 1856 the chancel was built at the expense of James Nicholson and the nave was extended by one bay.^[4] In 1890 Henry Stanton commissioned a new north aisle, a new baptistry with a new font, and a new vestry.^[6] The aisle and vestry, together with a north porch, were designed by William Owen.^[1]

Architecture

The church is built in sandstone with steeply pitched slate roofs. Its plan consists of a nave of six bays, a chancel of two bays, a north aisle and a west porch. A west bellcote has one bell.^[1]

The chancel has a floor of marble and coloured glazed tiles. The reredos has two panels of Biblical scenes in marble which are separated by plaster angels.^[1] In the church is a memorial to Edward the Elder who founded Thelwall in 923. This is dated 1907 and is by Eric Gill.^[5] The frame of the memorial is by F. C. Eden and Helfar Bros.^[1] From around 1884 the organ used had been built by Gray and Davidson, and in 1964 it was rebuilt by Jardine. By the 21st century the electrical control system had deteriorated and this was replaced in 2005 by a solid-state system made by John Lifton.^[7]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} "Church of All Saints, Grappenhall and Thelwall", The National Heritage List for England (English Heritage), 2011, http://list.english-heritage.org.uk/resultsingle.aspx?uid=1139326, retrieved 7 May 2011 
2. ^ All Saints, Thelwall, Church of England, http://www.achurchnearyou.com/thelwall-all-saints/, retrieved 28 January 2011 
3. ^ History - Page 1, All Saints Church, Thelwall, http://www.allsaints.org.uk/history1.htm, retrieved 27 January 2008 
4. ^ ^{a b} History - Page 2, All Saints Church, Thelwall, http://www.allsaints.org.uk/history2.htm, retrieved 27 January 2008 
5. ^ ^{a b} Pollard, Richard; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2006), Lancashire: Liverpool and the South-West, The Buildings of England, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, p. 628, ISBN 0-300-10910-5 
6. ^ History - Page 3, All Saints Church, Thelwall, http://www.allsaints.org.uk/history3.htm, retrieved 27 January 2008 
7. ^ Pipe Organ, All Saints Church, Thelwall, http://www.allsaints.org.uk/organ.htm, retrieved 27 January 2008