St Ann's Church, Warrington

St Ann's Church, Warrington is a redundant church in Warrington, Cheshire, England (gbmapping|SJ606890). It is a Grade II* listed building.cite web |url=http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/search/details.aspx?pid=1&id=58872 |title=Images of England: Church of St Ann, Warrington |accessdate=2008-02-08 |publisher=English Heritage ] It was made redundant in 1995 and is now an indoor climbing centre. [cite web |url=http://www.northwestface.com/flash.html |title=North West Face |accessdate=2008-02-08 |publisher=North West Face ] From the mid-1960s to the mid-80s the church was heated by steam from the adjacent Tetley Walker's brewery.

A new St Ann's church on a different site half a mile away was built in 2000. [cite web |url=http://www.communigate.co.uk/chesh/stanns/index.phtml |title=St Ann's, Warrington |accessdate=2008-03-24 |publisher=Newsquest Media Group ]

History

The church was built between 1866 and 1868 to a design by John Douglas. There were delays caused by bad weather, and it was not until William Beamont paid the builder that the church was consecrated, on 27 February 1869.cite book | last =Parish| first =Stephen | title =The History of St Ann's Warrington| isbn =0-9538345-0-6 ] In 1996 it became a climbing centre with a mezzanine in the chancel. These changes are said to be reversible.cite book | last =Pollard| first =Richard | authorlink = | coauthors =Nikolaus Pevsner | title =The Buildings of England: Lancashire: Liverpool and the South-West |edition= | publisher =Yale University Press | date =2006 | location =New Haven & London | pages =621 | url = | doi = | id = | isbn =0 300 10910 5 ]

tructure

It is built in red brick with some dressings in blue brick and it has a slate roof. Its plan consists of a six-bay nave without aisles, an apsidal chancel, north and south porches, a north vestry and a southeast tower. The tower is in the angle between the nave and the chancel and in in three stages. In the lower stage is a single lancet window and in the second stage are three similar windows. The third stage contains pairs of louvred bell openings and above these is a corbelled parapet. On the southwest corner is a stair-turret rising to the height of the tower and capped by a tall conical-roofed turret rising above the parapet. On top of the tower is a tall steeply-pitched saddle-back roof. In the sanctuary (but currently obscured) are paintings of The Evangelists by Westlake, dated 1868, which were repainted by T. Hesketh in 1894.

Notes