St Ann's Church, Warrington
Encyclopedia
St Ann's Church, Warrington is a redundant
Anglican
church in Warrington
, Cheshire
, England. It has been designated by English Heritage
as a Grade II* listed building. It was closed for worship in November 1995 and since 1996 has been used as an indoor climbing centre. From the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s the church was heated by steam from the then adjacent Tetley Walker's brewery. A new St Ann's church on a different site half a mile away was built in 2000.
. There were delays caused by bad weather, and it was not until local solicitor William Beamont
paid the builder that the church was consecrated, on 27 February 1869. In 1996 it became a climbing centre with a mezzanine in the chancel
. These changes are said to be reversible.
roof. Its plan consists of a six-bay
nave
without aisle
s, 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 corbel
led 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.
Edward Hubbard
describes its architecture as being "quite startlingly bold and original". In the Buildings of England
series it is described as being "an impressively forceful High Victorian work..., bold and uncompromising", and the "bizarre juxtaposition" of the climbing walls and 19th-century architecture is described as "strangely enjoyable".
Redundant church
A redundant church is a church building that is no longer required for regular public worship. The phrase is particularly used to refer to former Anglican buildings in the United Kingdom, but may refer to any disused church building around the world...
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...
church 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...
, 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 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. It was closed for worship in November 1995 and since 1996 has been used as an indoor climbing centre. From the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s the church was heated by steam from the then adjacent Tetley Walker's brewery. A new St Ann's church on a different site half a mile away was built in 2000.
History
The church was built between 1866 and 1868 to a design by John DouglasJohn Douglas (architect)
John Douglas was an English architect who designed about 500 buildings in Cheshire, North Wales, and northwest England, in particular in the estate of Eaton Hall. He was trained in Lancaster and practised throughout his career from an office in Chester, Cheshire...
. There were delays caused by bad weather, and it was not until local solicitor William Beamont
William Beamont
William Beamont was a Victorian solicitor and local philanthropist, living in the town of Warrington, in the north-west of England....
paid the builder that the church was consecrated, on 27 February 1869. In 1996 it became a climbing centre with a mezzanine in 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...
. These changes are said to be reversible.
Architecture
The church is built in red brick with some dressings in blue brick and it has a slateSlate
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. Its plan consists of a six-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
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...
without 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...
s, an apsidal
Apse
In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...
chancel, north and south porches, a north 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 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
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...
and in the second stage are three similar windows. The third stage contains pairs of louvred
Louver
A louver or louvre , from the French l'ouvert; "the open one") is a window, blind or shutter with horizontal slats that are angled to admit light and air, but to keep out rain, direct sunshine, and noise...
bell openings and above these is a corbel
Corbel
In architecture a corbel is a piece of stone jutting out of a wall to carry any superincumbent weight. A piece of timber projecting in the same way was called a "tassel" or a "bragger". The technique of corbelling, where rows of corbels deeply keyed inside a wall support a projecting wall or...
led parapet
Parapet
A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...
. On the southwest corner is a 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...
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.
Edward Hubbard
Edward Hubbard
Edward Horton Hubbard was an English architectural historian who worked with Nikolaus Pevsner in compiling volumes of the Buildings of England...
describes its architecture as being "quite startlingly bold and original". In 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 it is described as being "an impressively forceful High Victorian work..., bold and uncompromising", and the "bizarre juxtaposition" of the climbing walls and 19th-century architecture is described as "strangely enjoyable".