Christ Church, Weston Point

Christ Church, Weston Point
Christ Church, Weston Point

Christ Church, Weston Point

Coordinates: 53°19′43″N 2°45′40″W / 53.3287°N 2.7610°W / 53.3287; -2.7610
OS grid reference SJ 494 815
Location Weston Point, Runcorn, Cheshire
Country England
Denomination Anglican
History
Consecrated 21 December 1841
Architecture
Functional status Redundant
Heritage designation Grade II
Designated 5 April 1990
Architect(s) Edmund Sharpe
Architectural type Church
Style Gothic Revival
Completed 1841
Specifications
Spire height 95 feet (29.0 m)
Materials Sandstone

Christ Church, Weston Point, a former parish church, is a redundant church in Weston Point, Runcorn, Cheshire, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building.[1]

Contents

History

From 1720 improvements were made to the River Weaver to make it more navigable for transport from the salt mines in the Winsford area of Cheshire to the River Mersey, creating the Weaver Navigation.[2] In 1839 the Weaver Navigation Trustees received a petition from its employees to allow them "the privilege of resting on the Sabbath day" and to "have an opportunity of attending Divine Service".[3] Previous Acts of Parliament had already prohibited bargemen from having to work on Sundays. On 12 August 1839 the Trustees passed a by-law forbidding traffic on the Navigation between midnight on Saturday and midnight on Sunday. On 4 August 1840 a Weaver Navigation Act was passed to authorise the Trustees to use part of their funds to build one or more churches for their employees. Christ Church, Weston Point, was one of these churches, the others being Holy Trinity, Northwich, and Christ Church, Winsford. The architect gaining the commission for all three churches was Edmund Sharpe of Lancaster.[3]

The foundation stone of Christ Church was laid by Sir Richard Brooke of Norton Priory, and the church was consecrated on 21 December 1841 by Rt Rev John Bird Sumner, Bishop of Chester. The stone from a nearby quarry was given by its owner John Tomkinson. The spire of the church was rebuilt in 1898 following a fire.[3]

When it was built, the church stood on a headland jutting out into the River Mersey. However the Manchester Ship Canal was built on its river-side, and the Runcorn and Weston Canal on the land-side, leaving it on an island. At this time it was said to be the only church in Britain in use on an uninhabited island.[4] On 1 June 1995 it was declared redundant,[5] and on 10 June 2004 it was granted provision to be used as an office, for storage and as a monument.[6] In 2002 the interior of the church was vandalised by thieves, and all the fittings were taken. The building now stands within the Port of Weston and is inaccessible to the public. As of 2011 the land on which the church stands is owned by the Stobart Group of companies.[3]

Architecture

The church is built in local sandstone.[4] It is in Geometric Gothic style. The plan of the church is cruciform, consisting of a four-bay nave, a single-bay chancel, north and south single-bay transepts, a small southwest porch, and a tower with a broach spire at the west end. The tower is in three stages and rises to a height of 95 feet (29.0 m). It is supported by angle gabled buttresses. The stages are divided by string courses. The bottom stage contains blocked trefoils on the north and south sides, a pair of single-light windows on the west, and a doorway on the north side. In the middle stage is a trefoil window on the south side, and single-light windows on the north and south sides. The top stage contains two-light bell openings on each side, with an inserted clock on the south side. The spire is octagonal, contains three tiers of gabled lucarnes, and is surmounted by a finial and a cross. At the east end of the church is a three-light window containing tracery, and each bay of the nave contains a double lancet window. The transepts have two-light windows on their east and west sides and, in the gables, a three-light window with a trefoil window above.[1] At the base of the tower is a small vestry. There are stone crosses on the north and south ends of the roof; originally there was a cross on the east end, but this is no longer present. The church is floored with Yorkshire stone that was carried to the site of the church via the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. The bell, cast by Thomas Mears of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry, was installed in 1842.[3] The church stands in a rectangular plot of land, surrounded by spiked wrought iron railings. On the south side is a pair of gates.[1]

See also

  • Listed buildings in Runcorn (urban area)
  • List of architectural works by Edmund Sharpe

References

  1. ^ a b c "Christ Church and churchyard railings", The National Heritage List for England (English Heritage), 2011, http://list.english-heritage.org.uk/resultsingle.aspx?uid=1271140, retrieved 23 April 2011 
  2. ^ Priestley, Joseph (1831), Historical Account of the Navigable Rivers, Canals, and Railways, of Great Britain, London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown & Green, p. 666 
  3. ^ a b c d e Hughes, John M. (2010), Edmund Sharpe: Man of Lancaster, John M. Hughes, pp. 181–190 
  4. ^ a b Starkey, H. F. (1990), Old Runcorn, Halton Borough Council, pp. 98–99 
  5. ^ (PDF) Diocese of Chester: All Schemes, Church Commissioners/Statistics, Church of England, 2010, p. 5, http://www.churchofengland.org/media/810427/chester%20-%20all%20schemes.pdf, retrieved 30 July 2011 
  6. ^ Orders approved at the Privy Council held by the Queen at Buckingham Palace on 10 June 2004, Privy Council, http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:YjUYtRSxn-MJ:www.privy-council.org.uk/files/word/10%2520June%25202004.doc+christ+church+weston+redundant&hl=en&gl=uk&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEEShQ0KNEuNfbDZ_HATFM4IAWfxKv7Svx2UHtFEoVlJ3EKGrF218JEGFtQXUfahayyUaIgpViAvEEJU-I1Zm92JUBC03kxJvMPhtF9nE6lu1oqs3oqXb5UwlnAO_QcVRdxEUliZkY&sig=AHIEtbT5d0RhupB10ueC5meJUeyTdPAHSA, retrieved 1 December 2010 

Further reading


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Christ Church — may refer to: Contents 1 Churches in Australia 2 Churches in Ireland 3 Churches in Israel …   Wikipedia

  • Holy Trinity Church, Northwich — Holy Trinity Church, Northwich …   Wikipedia

  • Weston-super-Mare — Oldmixon redirects here. For the writer, see John Oldmixon. Coordinates: 51°20′46″N 2°58′37″W / 51.346°N 2.977°W / 51.34 …   Wikipedia

  • St Oswald's Church, Malpas — St Oswald s Church, Malpas, from the southeast …   Wikipedia

  • St Peter's Church, Little Budworth — St Peter s Church, Little Budworth, from the south …   Wikipedia

  • List of churches in Cheshire — This is a list of Christian churches in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. Church of England The Anglican churches in the county are either part of the diocese of Chester or the diocese of Liverpool. Chester diocese is divided into two… …   Wikipedia

  • Open Episcopal Church — The Open Episcopal Church is a growing liberal Catholic denomination that calls itself the small church with a big heart . It has bishops in England, Scotland and Wales and clergy across the country. It has ministered to hundreds of thousands of… …   Wikipedia

  • Listed buildings in Runcorn, Cheshire — Runcorn has a number of listed buildings. [cite web |url=http://www2.halton.gov.uk/content/environment/planning/forwardplanning/listedconservationareas/listedbuildings?a=5441 |title=Listed Buildings in Halton |accessdate=2007 04 19… …   Wikipedia

  • Florida-Georgia District (LCMS) — The Florida Georgia District is one of the 35 districts of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS), and encompasses the states of Georgia and Florida, with the exception of the Florida Panhandle which is part of the Southern District; in… …   Wikipedia

  • Mimico —   Dissolved municipality   Vimy Park …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”