St Boniface's Church, Bunbury
Encyclopedia
St Boniface's Church, Bunbury, stands prominently in the village of Bunbury
, Cheshire
, England. It has been designated by English Heritage
as a Grade I listed building. The church dates mainly from the 14th century. Its features include the Ridley chapel, the alabaster
chest tomb of Sir Hugh Calveley
and the tomb of Sir George Beeston. Richards considers it is architecturally one of the most important examples of its period in Cheshire. Alec Clifton-Taylor
includes it in his list of 'best' English parish churches. It is an active Anglican
parish church
in the diocese of Chester
, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of Malpas. Its benefice
is combined with that of St Jude, Tilstone Fearnall.
church. By 1135 a stone Norman
church was present. The church was rebuilt in the decorated style in 1320. In 1385–86 Sir Hugh Calveley
endowed it as a collegiate church
, which resulted in more rebuilding: much of the existing structure dates from this time. A chantry
chapel was added in 1527 by Sir Rauph Egerton of Ridley and nave galleries were added in the 18th century. From 1863–66, restoration
work was done by Pennington and Bridgen, when wall paintings, galleries, and box pew
s were removed, the floor was tiled, and a new roof was constructed. In 1940 a land mine
seriously damaged the church. The roof was replaced in 1950 by Marshall Sisson.
with a lead and slate
roof, is mainly Perpendicular in style. At the west end a tower leads to a broad six-bay
nave
and narrow eight-bay north and south aisle
s which enclose the tower. The three-bay chancel
is narrower than the nave and leads to a sanctuary
with a vestry
to the north. To the south of the chancel is the Ridley chapel. A south porch extends from the fifth bay from the west. The tower has a west doorway above which is a three-light window. The ringers' windows are single lancets
, and the belfry windows are of four lights. The top of the tower is surmounted by battlement
s and pinnacle
s. The parapet
of the north aisle consists of stone openwork with crocket
ed pinnacle
s; the parapet of the south aisle is crenellated
.
is dated 1662 and the oak communion rail dates from 1717. The choir stalls are of carved oak, as is the pulpit
, which rests on a stone base. The brass chandelier
in Baroque
style is dated 1756. The chancel screen is by F. H. Crossley and is dated 1921. The screen to the southeast chapel dates from about 1450. Its panels are painted with twelve figures that include Saint Catherine
, Saint Apollonia
, and Saint Anthony of Egypt
. It is "the only substantial painted medieval
screen to survive in Cheshire". In several windows there are fragments of original stained glass. Windows by Kempe
dated 1905 are in the south chancel wall, and in the north chancel wall are windows dated 1952 by R. C. Evetts. The glass in the east and west windows and in the east window of the north aisle is by Christopher Webb of St Albans.
In the chancel is the alabaster
chest tomb of Sir Hugh Calveley, which is surrounded by spiked railings. It is the earliest alabaster tomb in Cheshire. In the north wall of the sanctuary is the tomb of Sir George Beeston who was the commander of Dreadnought
when it fought against the Spanish Armada
. At this time he was aged 88, and he died at the age of 102. In the south wall of the sanctuary are a triple sedilia
and a double-draining piscina
. In the south aisle are 15th century painted wooden panels which were formerly part of parclose screens; they were restored at the Victoria and Albert Museum
in 1988. In the north aisle is a standing effigy
of Jane Johnson, who died in 1741. Around 1760, it was removed to the churchyard and buried on the instruction of the incumbent
. It was rediscovered in the 19th century and was restored to the interior of the church. Also in the church are three memorial boards which are believed to have been painted by members of the Randle Holme
family of Chester
. At the back of the church in the northeast corner are a number of stone coffin lids, and defaced effigies
dating from the 13th to the 15th centuries. The organ was built in 1895 by P. Conacher of Huddersfield. It was extensively rebuilt in 1968 by Henry Willis & Sons
.
The tower has a ring
of eight bells. The oldest two of these date from around 1500 and around 1610. Two later bells were cast by Rudhall of Gloucester
in 1715 and 1758. The remaining bells were cast in the Whitechapel Bell Foundry
by Thomas Mears II in 1817, and by Mears and Stainbank, two in 1895 and one in 1898. The parish register
s begin in 1559 and the churchwarden
s' accounts in 1655. Carved stones dating from the Norman
period have been discovered beneath the floor of the church and these are stored in the south porch.
dated 1710, and a gravestone consisting of two sandstone slabs probably dating from the early 16th century.
Bunbury, Cheshire
Bunbury is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, south of Tarporley, north west of Nantwich, and on the Shropshire Union Canal...
, 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 I listed building. The church dates mainly from the 14th century. Its features include the Ridley chapel, the alabaster
Alabaster
Alabaster is a name applied to varieties of two distinct minerals, when used as a material: gypsum and calcite . The former is the alabaster of the present day; generally, the latter is the alabaster of the ancients...
chest tomb of Sir Hugh Calveley
Hugh Calveley
Sir Hugh Calveley was an English soldier and commander, who took part in the Hundred Years' War, gaining fame during the War of the Breton Succession and the Castilian Civil War...
and the tomb of Sir George Beeston. Richards considers it is architecturally one of the most important examples of its period in Cheshire. Alec Clifton-Taylor
Alec Clifton-Taylor
Alec Clifton-Taylor OBE was an English architectural historian, writer and TV broadcaster.-Biography and works:...
includes it in his list of 'best' English parish churches. 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 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 Malpas. Its benefice
Benefice
A benefice is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The term is now almost obsolete.-Church of England:...
is combined with that of St Jude, Tilstone Fearnall.
History
From the 8th century a church has been on the site, initially a wooden Anglo-SaxonAnglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
church. By 1135 a stone 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...
church was present. The church was rebuilt in the decorated style in 1320. In 1385–86 Sir Hugh Calveley
Hugh Calveley
Sir Hugh Calveley was an English soldier and commander, who took part in the Hundred Years' War, gaining fame during the War of the Breton Succession and the Castilian Civil War...
endowed it as a collegiate church
Collegiate church
In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons; a non-monastic, or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by a dean or provost...
, which resulted in more rebuilding: much of the existing structure dates from this time. A chantry
Chantry
Chantry is the English term for a fund established to pay for a priest to celebrate sung Masses for a specified purpose, generally for the soul of the deceased donor. Chantries were endowed with lands given by donors, the income from which maintained the chantry priest...
chapel was added in 1527 by Sir Rauph Egerton of Ridley and nave galleries were added in the 18th century. From 1863–66, restoration
Victorian restoration
Victorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...
work was done by Pennington and Bridgen, when wall paintings, galleries, and box pew
Box pew
Box pew is a type of church pew that is encased in panelling and was prevalent in England and other Protestant countries from the 16th to early 19th century.-History in England:...
s were removed, the floor was tiled, and a new roof was constructed. In 1940 a land mine
Land mine
A land mine is usually a weight-triggered explosive device which is intended to damage a target—either human or inanimate—by means of a blast and/or fragment impact....
seriously damaged the church. The roof was replaced in 1950 by Marshall Sisson.
Exterior
The church, built in red sandstoneSandstone
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,...
with a lead and 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, is mainly Perpendicular in style. At the west end a tower leads to a broad 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...
and narrow eight-bay north and 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...
s which enclose the tower. The three-bay 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...
is narrower than the nave and leads to a sanctuary
Sanctuary
A sanctuary is any place of safety. They may be categorized into human and non-human .- Religious sanctuary :A religious sanctuary can be a sacred place , or a consecrated area of a church or temple around its tabernacle or altar.- Sanctuary as a sacred place :#Sanctuary as a sacred place:#:In...
with a 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....
to the north. To the south of the chancel is the Ridley chapel. A south porch extends from the fifth bay from the west. The tower has a west doorway above which is a three-light window. The ringers' windows are single lancets
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 the belfry windows are of four lights. The top of the tower is surmounted by battlement
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...
s and pinnacle
Pinnacle
A pinnacle is an architectural ornament originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire...
s. The 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...
of the north aisle consists of stone openwork with crocket
Crocket
A crocket is a hook-shaped decorative element common in Gothic architecture. It is in the form of a stylised carving of curled leaves, buds or flowers which is used at regular intervals to decorate the sloping edges of spires, finials, pinnacles, and wimpergs....
ed pinnacle
Pinnacle
A pinnacle is an architectural ornament originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire...
s; the parapet of the south aisle is crenellated
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...
.
Interior
Fragments of wall paintings remain inside the church. The octagonal stone fontBaptismal 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:...
is dated 1662 and the oak communion rail dates from 1717. The choir stalls are of carved oak, as is the 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...
, which rests on a stone base. The brass chandelier
Chandelier
A chandelier is a branched decorative ceiling-mounted light fixture with two or more arms bearing lights. Chandeliers are often ornate, containing dozens of lamps and complex arrays of glass or crystal prisms to illuminate a room with refracted light...
in Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
style is dated 1756. The chancel screen is by F. H. Crossley and is dated 1921. The screen to the southeast chapel dates from about 1450. Its panels are painted with twelve figures that include Saint Catherine
Catherine of Alexandria
Saint Catherine of Alexandria, also known as Saint Catherine of the Wheel and The Great Martyr Saint Catherine is, according to tradition, a Christian saint and virgin, who was martyred in the early 4th century at the hands of the pagan emperor Maxentius...
, Saint Apollonia
Saint Apollonia
Saint Apollonia was one of a group of virgin martyrs who suffered in Alexandria during a local uprising against the Christians prior to the persecution of Decius. According to legend, her torture included having all of her teeth violently pulled out or shattered...
, and Saint Anthony of Egypt
Anthony the Great
Anthony the Great or Antony the Great , , also known as Saint Anthony, Anthony the Abbot, Anthony of Egypt, Anthony of the Desert, Anthony the Anchorite, Abba Antonius , and Father of All Monks, was a Christian saint from Egypt, a prominent leader among the Desert Fathers...
. It is "the only substantial painted 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...
screen to survive in Cheshire". In several windows there are fragments of original stained glass. Windows 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...
dated 1905 are in the south chancel wall, and in the north chancel wall are windows dated 1952 by R. C. Evetts. The glass in the east and west windows and in the east window of the north aisle is by Christopher Webb of St Albans.
Alabaster
Alabaster is a name applied to varieties of two distinct minerals, when used as a material: gypsum and calcite . The former is the alabaster of the present day; generally, the latter is the alabaster of the ancients...
chest tomb of Sir Hugh Calveley, which is surrounded by spiked railings. It is the earliest alabaster tomb in Cheshire. In the north wall of the sanctuary is the tomb of Sir George Beeston who was the commander of Dreadnought
HMS Dreadnought (1573)
DreadnoughtThe 'HMS' prefix was not used until the middle of the 18th century, but is sometimes applied retrospectively was a 41-gun galleon of the English Navy Royal, built by Mathew Baker and launched in 1573. Like HMS Dreadnought of 1906, she was a radical innovation over contemporary ships...
when it fought against the Spanish Armada
Spanish Armada
This article refers to the Battle of Gravelines, for the modern navy of Spain, see Spanish NavyThe Spanish Armada was the Spanish fleet that sailed against England under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia in 1588, with the intention of overthrowing Elizabeth I of England to stop English...
. At this time he was aged 88, and he died at the age of 102. In the south wall of the sanctuary are a triple sedilia
Sedilia
Sedilia , in ecclesiastical architecture, is the term used to describe stone seats, usually to be found on the south side of an altar, often in the chancel, for the use of the officiating priests...
and a double-draining 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...
. In the south aisle are 15th century painted wooden panels which were formerly part of parclose screens; they were restored at the Victoria and Albert Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
in 1988. In the north aisle is a standing effigy
Effigy
An effigy is a representation of a person, especially in the form of sculpture or some other three-dimensional form.The term is usually associated with full-length figures of a deceased person depicted in stone or wood on church monuments. These most often lie supine with hands together in prayer,...
of Jane Johnson, who died in 1741. Around 1760, it was removed to the churchyard and buried on the instruction of the incumbent
Incumbent (ecclesiastical)
In Anglican canon law, the incumbent of a benefice, usually the parish priest, holds the temporalities or assets and income.Depending on the terms of governance of each parish an incumbent might be either:...
. It was rediscovered in the 19th century and was restored to the interior of the church. Also in the church are three memorial boards which are believed to have been painted by members of the 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...
family of Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
. At the back of the church in the northeast corner are a number of stone coffin lids, and defaced effigies
Effigy
An effigy is a representation of a person, especially in the form of sculpture or some other three-dimensional form.The term is usually associated with full-length figures of a deceased person depicted in stone or wood on church monuments. These most often lie supine with hands together in prayer,...
dating from the 13th to the 15th centuries. The organ was built in 1895 by P. Conacher of Huddersfield. It was extensively rebuilt in 1968 by Henry Willis & Sons
Henry Willis & Sons
thumb|250px|St Bees Priory organ, the last major instrument to be personally supervised by "Father" Henry Willis, 1899Henry Willis & Sons is a British firm of pipe organ builders founded in 1845 in Liverpool. Although most of their installations have been in the UK, examples can be found in other...
.
The tower has a 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...
of eight bells. The oldest two of these date from around 1500 and around 1610. Two later bells were cast by Rudhall of Gloucester
Rudhall of Gloucester
Rudhall of Gloucester was a family business of bell founders in the city of Gloucester, England, who between 1684 and 1835 produced over 5,000 bells. The business was founded by Abraham Rudhall and the earliest ring of bells he cast was for St Nicholas' Church, Oddington in 1684. He came to be...
in 1715 and 1758. The remaining bells were cast in 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...
by Thomas Mears II in 1817, and by Mears and Stainbank, two in 1895 and one in 1898. 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 1559 and the churchwarden
Churchwarden
A churchwarden is a lay official in a parish church or congregation of the Anglican Communion, usually working as a part-time volunteer. Holders of these positions are ex officio members of the parish board, usually called a vestry, parish council, parochial church council, or in the case of a...
s' accounts in 1655. Carved stones dating from the 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...
period have been discovered beneath the floor of the church and these are stored in the south porch.
External features
The north gates to the church yard are listed Grade II, as are the west gates which were reconstructed as memorial gates around 1919. In the church yard are two other structures listed Grade II, a red sandstone sundialSundial
A sundial is a device that measures time by the position of the Sun. In common designs such as the horizontal sundial, the sun casts a shadow from its style onto a surface marked with lines indicating the hours of the day. The style is the time-telling edge of the gnomon, often a thin rod or a...
dated 1710, and a gravestone consisting of two sandstone slabs probably dating from the early 16th century.