St Chad's Chapel, Tushingham is in the scattered community of Tushingham

Tushingham

Tushingham is a scattered community in the civil parish of Tushingham cum Grindley, Cheshire, England.St Chad's Chapel, Tushingham is a Grade I listed building. There are also a number of Grade II listed buildings which include Tushingham Hall, Tushingham House and the Blue Bell Inn.-External links:...

 in the civil parish

Civil parish

In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 of Tushingham cum Grindley, 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. The only approach to the chapel is on footpaths across fields from the A41 road

A41 road

The A41 is a formerly-major trunk road in England that links London and Birkenhead, although it has now largely been superseded by motorways. It passes through or near various towns and cities including Watford, Hemel Hempstead, Aylesbury, Solihull, Birmingham, West Bromwich, Wolverhampton,...

. 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.

History

Deeds dated 1349 refer to a chapel on this site which was a chapel of ease to St Oswald's Church, Malpas. A document dated 1621 refers to it as Chadwick Chapel, although by 1636 another document called it Chad Chapel. It was rebuilt in 1689–91 and has been little changed since. The principal financial donations for the chapel were from John Dod, a London mercer who had been born in Tushingham. The chapel is now referred to as Old Chad because its functions have been replaced by a church built in 1863 on the A41 road

A41 road

The A41 is a formerly-major trunk road in England that links London and Birkenhead, although it has now largely been superseded by motorways. It passes through or near various towns and cities including Watford, Hemel Hempstead, Aylesbury, Solihull, Birmingham, West Bromwich, Wolverhampton,...

 which is also dedicated to Saint Chad.

Exterior

The chapel is built in brown brick with a grey 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. Its plan consists of a tower at the west end with an external staircase leading to an internal west gallery. The body of the chapel is in three bays

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:...

 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; it is furnished as 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...

 and a 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...

. 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....

 projects south from the west bay of the nave. The tower is small with a pyramid-roof. It has a west door with a loophole above it, a plain band at the belfry

Bell tower

A bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...

 floor level, paired camber-headed bell-openings and a weathercock

Weather vane

A weather vane is an instrument for showing the direction of the wind. They are typically used as an architectural ornament to the highest point of a building....

.

Interior

The roof is unusual in that the sections between the principal beams are filled with carvings making a star-like pattern. All the chapel furnishings are made from Cheshire oak. The holy table dates from the 17th century, and on each side of it are panelled family 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. On the wall above the south pew are three marble

Marble

Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...

 memorials to the Vernon and Murhall families, and above the north pew is a marble memorial to the Stephens family. Above the two east windows is the royal coat of arms

Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom

The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom is the official coat of arms of the British monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II. These arms are used by the Queen in her official capacity as monarch of the United Kingdom, and are officially known as her Arms of Dominion...

 of George III

George III of the United Kingdom

George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...

. A low screen divides the chancel from the nave. The seating in the nave consists of plain seats and backs without any decoration. At the west end is a gallery which is reached by the external staircase. The 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:...

 is Jacobean

Jacobean architecture

The Jacobean style is the second phase of Renaissance architecture in England, following the Elizabethan style. It is named after King James I of England, with whose reign it is associated.-Characteristics:...

 in style, and 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...

 is a three-decker.

External features

Adjacent to the church is a small building containing a horse-drawn hearse

Hearse

A hearse is a funerary vehicle used to carry a coffin from a church or funeral home to a cemetery. In the funeral trade, hearses are often called funeral coaches.-History:...

. It is built of brown brick with a pyramidal roof of grey slates and is dated 1822. The hearse-house is a Grade II listed building.