St Bridget's Church, West Kirby is in the town of West Kirby

West Kirby

West Kirby is a town on the north-west corner of the coast of the Wirral Peninsula, England, at the mouth of the River Dee across from the Point of Ayr in North Wales. To the north-east of the town lies Hoylake, with the suburbs of Grange and Newton to the east, and the village of Caldy to the...

, 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

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 Wirral North. Its benefice is united with that of the Church of the Resurrection and All Saints, Caldy

Church of the Resurrection and All Saints, Caldy

The Church of the Resurrection and All Saints, Caldy, is in the village of Caldy, Wirral, Merseyside, England. The church has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building. It is an active Anglican church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester and the...

. 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

It is likely that there was a church on the site before the Norman Conquest. The first stone church was built around 1150–60. In the 13th century there were alterations or a rebuilding. Around 1320 the present chancel was built, followed by the north chapel and vestry. In 1493 the tower was erected and the north aisle was widened. By 1788 the church was "in a dilapidated state" and repairs were carried out. A major 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...

 took place in 1869–70 by Kelly and Edwards which amounted almost to a rebuilding. A north porch was added in 1876.

Exterior

The church is built in stone with a slate roof. Its plan consists of a west tower, a nave, north and south aisles, a chancel, a north chapel and a vestry. The chancel is not in line with the nave and it inclines to the north. The tower has a west door above which is a three-light Perpendicular window. The bell openings are paired and have two lights. A clock face is on the east side. The summit 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...

 and has a gilded weathervane dated 1757. The porch has head-stops which represent Queen Victoria

Victoria of the United Kingdom

Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....

 and Bishop William Jacobson

William Jacobson

For the law school professor, see William A. JacobsonFor the Distinguished Service Cross recipient, see William Jacobson ....

. At the west end of the north aisle is a gargoyle

Gargoyle

In architecture, a gargoyle is a carved stone grotesque, usually made of granite, with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building thereby preventing rainwater from running down masonry walls and eroding the mortar between...

 representing Gladstone

William Ewart Gladstone

William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...

 and Beaconsfield.

Interior

In the south wall of the chancel are a 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 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...

. The chancel arch has a low wrought iron

Wrought iron

thumb|The [[Eiffel tower]] is constructed from [[puddle iron]], a form of wrought ironWrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon...

 screen 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 above the arch is a painting also by Kempe. The circular 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 19th century. The altar and the timber reredos are made from re-used wood from the roof of Chester Cathedral

Chester Cathedral

Chester Cathedral is the mother church of the Church of England Diocese of Chester, and is located in the city of Chester, Cheshire, England. The cathedral, formerly St Werburgh's abbey church of a Benedictine monastery, is dedicated to Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary...

. The organ loft is by Douglas & Fordham. The organ was built in 1893 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...

 and improved by the same firm in 1950. The east window of the chancel is dated 1833. 19 of the 23 windows in the church are by Kempe and are dated between 1870 to 1906–07. In the church are a number of ancient stones, one of which is known as the Hogback

Hogback (sculpture)

Hogbacks are stone carved Anglo-Scandinavian sculptures from 10th-12th century England and Scotland. Their function is generally accepted as grave markers.-Geography and description:...

 stone. This dates from the early 11th century, the name Hogback referring to its curving shape. It consists of hard grey 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,...

, not a type of stone found locally. 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. Four of these are dated 1719 by Abraham Rudhall II

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...

, one dated 1854 is by Bathgate & Wilson and the other three, dated 1889 are by John Taylor & Co. 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 date from 1561 but are incomplete. 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 start in 1754.