Christ Church, Barnton
Encyclopedia
Christ Church, Barnton, is in the village of Barnton
, Cheshire
, England. It is an active Anglican
parish church
in the deanery of Great Budworth, the archdeaconry of Chester, and the diocese of Chester
. The church has been designated by English Heritage
as a Grade II listed building.
on 7 October 1842 by Rt Revd John Bird Sumner, Bishop of Chester
. The land for the church cost £30 (£ as of ), and the church itself cost £1,400 (£ as of ). The cost of the land was met by Revd Richard Greenall, vicar of St Matthew's Church, Stretton
, Archdeacon
of Chester, and a member of the Greenall's family, brewers in Warrington
. The church website states that the architect was Edmund Sharpe
of Lancaster
. There is no documentary evidence that Sharpe was the architect, but owing to the stylistic similarity of the design to his other works at about the same time it has been attributed to him.
A considerable restoration was undertaken in 1888, which included covering the internal brick walls with cement rendering
. In 1899 the church was extended at the east end by enlarging the nave
and the chancel
, and installing a new east window. A new organ chamber was built on the south side of the church, and the vicar's vestry
on the north side was demolished. The extension was consecrated on 19 September 1900 by Revd Francis Jayne
, Bishop of Chester. A small extension was added to the church in 1974.
red sandstone
, and its interior is lined with red brick. It has a Welsh slate
roof. The plan consists of an eight-bay
nave and chancel in one range, a south porch, and a south chapel containing the organ. At the west end is a double bellcote. The bays along the sides of the nave are divided by buttress
es, and each bay contains a lancet window
. There are triple lancet windows at the east and west ends of the church.
Inside the church is a gallery at the west end carried on cast iron
columns. The reredos
contains Gothic
arcading
and a carving of the Last Supper
. The Bath stone
pulpit
had been made in 1842 for St Helen Witton Church, Northwich
, and was moved to Christ Church in 1888, having been bought for £10 (£ as of ). The authors of the Buildings of England
series describe the pulpit as being "Puginesquely elaborate". The two-manual
organ was built in 1913 by Wadsworth and Brother, and may contain pipework from an earlier organ.
Barnton
Barnton is a civil parish and village in the north-west of England, just outside the town of Northwich, in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire...
, Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, England. It is an active Anglican
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
in the deanery of Great Budworth, the archdeaconry of Chester, and the diocese of Chester
Diocese of Chester
The Diocese of Chester is a Church of England diocese in the Province of York based in Chester, covering the county of Cheshire in its pre-1974 boundaries...
. The church has been designated by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
as a Grade II listed building.
History
Christ Church was built in 1841–42. The foundation stone was laid on 25 October 1841, and the church was consecratedConsecration
Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious. The word "consecration" literally means "to associate with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups...
on 7 October 1842 by Rt Revd John Bird Sumner, Bishop of Chester
Bishop of Chester
The Bishop of Chester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chester in the Province of York.The diocese expands across most of the historic county boundaries of Cheshire, including the Wirral Peninsula and has its see in the City of Chester where the seat is located at the Cathedral...
. The land for the church cost £30 (£ as of ), and the church itself cost £1,400 (£ as of ). The cost of the land was met by Revd Richard Greenall, vicar of St Matthew's Church, Stretton
St Matthew's Church, Stretton
St Matthew's Church, Stretton is in the village of Stretton, Cheshire, England. The church has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of Great Budworth...
, Archdeacon
Archdeacon
An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in Anglicanism, Syrian Malabar Nasrani, Chaldean Catholic, and some other Christian denominations, above that of most clergy and below a bishop. In the High Middle Ages it was the most senior diocesan position below a bishop in the Roman Catholic Church...
of Chester, and a member of the Greenall's family, brewers in Warrington
Warrington
Warrington is a town, borough and unitary authority area of Cheshire, England. It stands on the banks of the River Mersey, which is tidal to the west of the weir at Howley. It lies 16 miles east of Liverpool, 19 miles west of Manchester and 8 miles south of St Helens...
. The church website states that the architect was Edmund Sharpe
Edmund Sharpe
Edmund Sharpe was an English architect and engineer. He started his career as an architect, initially on his own, then in partnership with Edward Paley, designing mainly churches but also some secular buildings...
of Lancaster
Lancaster, Lancashire
Lancaster is the county town of Lancashire, England. It is situated on the River Lune and has a population of 45,952. Lancaster is a constituent settlement of the wider City of Lancaster, local government district which has a population of 133,914 and encompasses several outlying towns, including...
. There is no documentary evidence that Sharpe was the architect, but owing to the stylistic similarity of the design to his other works at about the same time it has been attributed to him.
A considerable restoration was undertaken in 1888, which included covering the internal brick walls with cement rendering
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
. In 1899 the church was extended at the east end by enlarging the nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
and the chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
, and installing a new east window. A new organ chamber was built on the south side of the church, and the vicar's vestry
Vestry
A vestry is a room in or attached to a church or synagogue in which the vestments, vessels, records, etc., are kept , and in which the clergy and choir robe or don their vestments for divine service....
on the north side was demolished. The extension was consecrated on 19 September 1900 by Revd Francis Jayne
Francis Jayne
Rev Francis John Jayne , was a British bishop and academic.Born in Pant-y-beiliau, Llanelli, he was educated at Rugby School and Wadham College, Oxford. He took his B.A. in 1868 and M.A. in 1870...
, Bishop of Chester. A small extension was added to the church in 1974.
Architecture
The church is constructed in RuncornRuncorn
Runcorn is an industrial town and cargo port within the borough of Halton in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. In 2009, its population was estimated to be 61,500. The town is on the southern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form Runcorn Gap. Directly to the north...
red sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
, and its interior is lined with red brick. It has a Welsh slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
roof. The plan consists of an eight-bay
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
nave and chancel in one range, a south porch, and a south chapel containing the organ. At the west end is a double bellcote. The bays along the sides of the nave are divided by buttress
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
es, and each bay contains a lancet window
Lancet window
A lancet window is a tall narrow window with a pointed arch at its top. It acquired the "lancet" name from its resemblance to a lance. Instances of this architectural motif are most often found in Gothic and ecclesiastical structures, where they are often placed singly or in pairs.The motif first...
. There are triple lancet windows at the east and west ends of the church.
Inside the church is a gallery at the west end carried on cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
columns. The reredos
Reredos
thumb|300px|right|An altar and reredos from [[St. Josaphat's Roman Catholic Church|St. Josaphat Catholic Church]] in [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]]. This would be called a [[retable]] in many other languages and countries....
contains Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
arcading
Arcade (architecture)
An arcade is a succession of arches, each counterthrusting the next, supported by columns or piers or a covered walk enclosed by a line of such arches on one or both sides. In warmer or wet climates, exterior arcades provide shelter for pedestrians....
and a carving of the Last Supper
Last Supper
The Last Supper is the final meal that, according to Christian belief, Jesus shared with his Twelve Apostles in Jerusalem before his crucifixion. The Last Supper provides the scriptural basis for the Eucharist, also known as "communion" or "the Lord's Supper".The First Epistle to the Corinthians is...
. The Bath stone
Bath Stone
Bath Stone is an Oolitic Limestone comprising granular fragments of calcium carbonate. Originally obtained from the Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines under Combe Down, Somerset, England, its warm, honey colouring gives the World Heritage City of Bath, England its distinctive appearance...
pulpit
Pulpit
Pulpit is a speakers' stand in a church. In many Christian churches, there are two speakers' stands at the front of the church. Typically, the one on the left is called the pulpit...
had been made in 1842 for St Helen Witton Church, Northwich
St Helen Witton Church, Northwich
St Helen Witton Church, Northwich, is in the centre of the town of Northwich, Cheshire, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building. The church is now known as "St Helen's, Witton" or "Northwich Parish Church". It is an active Anglican parish church...
, and was moved to Christ Church in 1888, having been bought for £10 (£ as of ). The authors of the Buildings of England
Pevsner Architectural Guides
The Pevsner Architectural Guides are a series of guide books to the architecture of the British Isles. Begun in the 1940s by art historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, the 46 volumes of the Buildings of England series were published between 1951 and 1975. The series was then extended to Scotland and...
series describe the pulpit as being "Puginesquely elaborate". The two-manual
Manual (music)
A manual is a keyboard designed to be played with the hands on a pipe organ, harpsichord, clavichord, electronic organ, or synthesizer. The term "manual" is used with regard to any hand keyboard on these instruments to distinguish it from the pedalboard, which is a keyboard that the organist plays...
organ was built in 1913 by Wadsworth and Brother, and may contain pipework from an earlier organ.