Holy Cross Church, Woodchurch is in Woodchurch

Woodchurch

Woodchurch is an area of the Wirral Peninsula, in England, which is sometimes considered a suburb of Birkenhead. Administratively, Woodchurch is within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral and the parliamentary constituency of Wirral West...

, an area of Birkenhead

Birkenhead

Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool...

, Wirral

Wirral Peninsula

Wirral or the Wirral is a peninsula in North West England. It is bounded by three bodies of water: to the west by the River Dee, forming a boundary with Wales, to the east by the River Mersey and to the north by the Irish Sea. Both terms "Wirral" and "the Wirral" are used locally , although the...

, England. It is an active Anglican 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 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 archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of Birkenhead. The church is a Grade II* listed building.

History

The fabric of the nave originates from the 12th century. However, the circular style graveyard suggests a pre-Norman date, possible Saxon or Romano-British. This early date is supported by the discovery of a portion of a 'Class D' Anglo-Saxon wheel cross at the grounds of the church in the late 19th or early 20th century and placed within the wall of the chancel within the church. The cross probably stood intact in the graveyard until the 17th century when many such crosses were destroyed by the Puritans(Cootes 2006: Undergraduate dissertation, University of Liverpool) In the 14th century the south aisle

Aisle

An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of seats on both sides or with rows of seats on one side and a wall on the other...

, 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 tower were added. The south aisle was rebuilt in the 16th century and a south porch was added. Heavy diagonal buttress

Buttress

A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...

es were added to the tower in 1675. The vestry was built in 1766. The north aisle by Hubert Worthington was added in 1964–65.

Structure

The church is built in stone. The roofs are of slate with copper covering the latest additions to the church. Its plan consists of a 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...

 with north and south aisles, a chancel, 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....

 and south porch. The tower is in two stages, the lower stage being very high. At the northwest and southwest corners of the tower are massive stepped buttresses. To its southeast is a square stair turret

Turret

In architecture, a turret is a small tower that projects vertically from the wall of a building such as a medieval castle. Turrets were used to provide a projecting defensive position allowing covering fire to the adjacent wall in the days of military fortification...

. Its top is embattled

Battlement

A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet , in which portions have been cut out at intervals to allow the discharge of arrows or other missiles. These cut-out portions form crenels...

. In the porch is a shallow piscina

Piscina

A piscina is a shallow basin placed near the altar of a church, used for washing the communion vessels. The sacrarium is the drain itself. Anglicans usually refer to the basin, calling it a piscina. Roman Catholics usually refer to the drain, and by extension, the basin, as the sacrarium...

 and grooves said to be caused by the sharpening of arrows. The windows in the porch contain some medieval

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

 stained glass. The north wall of the nave is Norman

Norman architecture

About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...

 and the chancel inclines to the north. Built into the wall of the chancel is a Saxon wheel cross. The chancel also contains old stained glass.

Fittings and furniture

On the north wall of the cancel are three 17th-century wooden panels containing the coat of arms

Coat of arms

A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...

 of local people painted by Randle Holme

Randle Holme

Randle Holme was a name shared by members of four successive generations of a family who lived in Chester, Cheshire, England from the late years of the 16th century to the early years of the 18th century. They were all herald painters and genealogists and were members of the Stationers' Company of...

. The wooden carved bench ends in the chancel date from the 15th century. At the back of the church is a charity board dated 1741. On the west wall are old bread shelves dated 1641 and 1670. On the west wall of the south aisle are the remnants of a Jesse

Jesse

Jesse, Eshai or Yishai, is the father of the David, who became the king of the Israelites. His son David is sometimes called simply "Son of Jesse" ....

 window by Kempe

Charles Eamer Kempe

Charles Eamer Kempe was a well-known Victorian stained glass designer. After attending Twyford School, he studied for the priesthood at Pembroke College, Oxford, but it became clear that his severe stammer would be an impediment to preaching...

 which was damaged by a bomb in 1941 and restored in 1945. The octagonal font

Baptismal font

A baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.-Aspersion and affusion fonts:...

 dates from the late 15th century and includes carvings of angels and scenes from the Passion

Passion (Christianity)

The Passion is the Christian theological term used for the events and suffering – physical, spiritual, and mental – of Jesus in the hours before and including his trial and execution by crucifixion...

. The floor contains some medieval encaustic tile

Encaustic tile

Encaustic tiles are ceramic tiles in which the pattern or figure on the surface is not a product of the glaze but of different colors of clay. They are usually of two colors but a tile may be composed of as many as six. The pattern is inlaid into the body of the tile, so that the design remains as...

s. The rood screen

Rood screen

The rood screen is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, or wrought iron...

, designed by Bernard A. Miller and carved by Alan Durst

Alan Durst

Alan Durst was a British sculptor and wood carver. A member of the London Group of artists. Three of Durst's work are held in the permanent collection of Tate Gallery.-Career:...

, was added in 1934. The south window of the chancel is by Kempe

Charles Eamer Kempe

Charles Eamer Kempe was a well-known Victorian stained glass designer. After attending Twyford School, he studied for the priesthood at Pembroke College, Oxford, but it became clear that his severe stammer would be an impediment to preaching...

 and is dated 1875. A processional cross dated 1937 was carved in ivory by Alan Durst. In the chancel is a monument by W. Spence to Margaret Hughes who died in 1802. The parish register

Parish register

A parish register is a handwritten volume, normally kept in a parish church or deposited within a county record office or alternative archive repository, in which details of baptisms, marriages and burials are recorded.-History:...

s begin in 1571. The ring

Ring of bells

"Ring of bells" is a term most often applied to a set of bells hung in the English style, typically for change ringing...

 consists of eight bells which were cast in 1971 by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry

Whitechapel Bell Foundry

The Whitechapel Bell Foundry is a bell foundry in Whitechapel in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, in the East End of London. The foundry is listed by the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest manufacturing company in Great Britain...

. It is said to be one of the lightest rings in Britain.

Organ Specification

The organ was built in 1938 by Rushworth and Dreaper

Rushworth and Dreaper

Rushworth and Dreaper was a firm of organ builders based in Liverpool, England Upon its bankruptcy, its archives were mostly destroyed, and the Victorian clock in the works tower was removed...

and rebuilt in 1997 by the same firm. It is an electronic extension organ, with 2 manuals and a concave radiating pedal board. There are also confusingly 2 boxes, meaning that the entire instrument is boxed! Listed below are the list of stops, which on the instrument are tabbed, along with a list of where stops have been used again, and which box controls the stop. The number in brackets refers to the stop number below which from which it is borrowed.

Swell

Compass: Low C- C4 (61 keys)

1. Contra Salicional, 16', LH Box,(22)

2. Stopped Diapason, 8', RH Box, (13+24)

3. Salicional, 8', LH Box, (14+25)

4. Flute, 4', RH Box, (16+26)

5. Flautina, 2', RH Box

6. Larigot, 1⅓', RH Box

7. Twenty Second, 1' LH Box

8. Contra Tromba, 16', RH Box (27)

9. Tromba, 8', RH Box (28)

10. Octave Tromba, 4', RH Box
Great

Compass: Low C- C4 (61 keys)

11. Bourdon, 16', RH Box (21)

12. Open Diapason, 8', LH Box (23)

13. Stopped Diapason, 8', RH Box (2+24)

14. Salicional, 8', LH Box (3+25)

15. Octave Diapason, 4', LH Box

16. Flute, 4', RH Box (4+26)

17. Dulcet, 4', LH Box

18. Nazard, 2⅔', RH Box

19. Fifteenth, 2', LH Box
Pedal

Compass: Low C- C1 (30 keys)

20. Acoustic Bass, 32', RH Box

21. Sub Bass, 16', RH Box (11)

22. Salicional, 16', LH Box (1)

23. Octave, 8', LH Box (12)

24. Bass Flute, 8', RH Box (2+13)

25. Salicional, 8', LH Box (3+14)

26. Octave Flute, 4', RH Box (4+16)

27. Tromba, 16', RH Box (8)

28. Octave Tromba, 8', RH Box (9)
Accessories and couplers

Swell to Great

Swell to Pedal

Great to Peal

3 thumb pistons each to Great and Swell, giving double touch Pedal

3 toe Pedal pistons

3 toe Swell pistons

Reversible toe "Great to Pedal" piston