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St Helen's Church (Sefton)
Encyclopedia
St. Helen's is the Anglican
parish church
in the village of Sefton
, Merseyside
, England , and an active parish church in the Diocese of Liverpool
, the Archdeaconry of Liverpool and the Deanery of Sefton.
The church has been described as the "Cathedral of the Fields" and "Jewel of South West Lancashire", and is noteworthy as the only Grade I listed building in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton.
St Helen's has gained recognition for its extensive carved Tudor woodwork, which Pollard and Pevsner
describe as the "great glory of the church", and for its inclusion in Simon Jenkins
' book, England’s Thousand Best Churches, and Clifton-Taylor
's list of 'best' English parish churches.
family built soon after. The history of the land before this is unknown, but the distinctive oval shape of the churchyard suggests that it may have been used as Saxon burial ground in pre-Conquest Britain.
architectural style is known to have existed by 1291, when the building's worth was estimated at £26 19s 4d in the Valor of Pope Nicholas IV
. No part of this original chapel exists today, however during building works at the East Window in the early 2000s, substantial Norman floor tiles were discovered and are now displayed in the Lady Chapel.
By 1320, the original building had been completely removed and replaced with a more contemporary Decorated Gothic
structure, which incorporated a small nave
with pointed, geometric tracery windows and pitched roofline. A West tower
with angle buttress
es, a cornice
and parapet
with beehive-shaped pinnacle
s and distinctive tall spire
was also built adjoining it. The spire was partially rebuilt following damage by severe gales in 1802.
Throughout the 14th and 15th centuries, a series of alterations or additions, which may have incorporated a Chancel
or Lady chapel
, seem to have been made to the structure. Evidence of this can be seen in the West window of the North aisle, which is curvilinear in style and shape, and postdates the 14th-century structure.
prior to the English Reformation
, the church was given an extensive rebuild.
The 14th-century tower was retained, but everything else was removed and a traditional Tudor
church in the Perpendicular style was built. This incorporated a new nave
and chancel
with clerestory
, side aisles and chapels to the North and South, a two-storey porch to the South and small vestry
to the East. The North chapel is the Lady Chapel
, and the South chapel, now known as the Molyneux Chapel, was once the Chantry
of St Mary.
The vast majority of the church as seen from the South elevation is of new stone dating from this rebuild in the 1530s. However, the East bay of the North aisle uses stonework dating from the 14th century, and the West bay from the 15th century, suggesting that much of the masonry of the earlier structure was incorporated into the new Tudor building. The smaller windows, rough joint with the tower, lack of embattled
parapets, and large sections of arch mouldings which make up the North wall all suggest that this was the case.
Within the chancel, a 15th-century sedilia
and piscina
in a four-arch arcade
, and an ogee
-arched aumbry
are located to the South of the altar
and predate the current structure.
Some time in the late 16th century, a range of typically Elizabethan, rectilinear windows in the late Perpendicular style were installed along the South aisle, flooding the church interior with light. They are plain but contain fragments of pre-Reformation
glass set into leaded panels.
and Renaissance
motifs, the latter including frieze
s with putti
.
The wooden stalls in the chancel and twenty six rows of pew
s lining the nave were carved especially for Sefton, and date to around 1590. They are richly carved and noteworthy in that they display only secular
motifs: unusual given their setting and purpose. They are oak in construction and carry a distinctive poppy head finial
, fashionable in the 16th century, atop their ends which each display a single letter of the alphabet in Gaelic script.
The pulpit
is Jacobean
carved wood and dates to 1635. It retains its backplate and sounding-board, and is richly covered in intricately carved Arabesque
decoration.
A large, 14th-century muniment
chest, four hatchment
s to the Blundell family and a series of carved wooden pews are located in the North and South chapels.
The octagonal baptismal font
which is 15th-century and out of place in the West end of the church, lacks its original painted decoration but has received a plain wooden cover dated 1688. Oak boards painted in gold leaf displaying the Ten Commandments
and Apostles' Creed hang in the tower and date to a similar period. These would have originally hung on the East wall behind the altar.
The communion rail, with twisted baluster
s, dates from between 1690 and 1700.
architectural style was fashionable in Britain, a series of alterations were made to the church's interior.
Those that survive today are the characteristically Georgian
austere, dark-wood panelling, complete with a relief pillar design highlighted in gold, which replaced the 17th-century Creed and Commandment boards behind the altar. The area around the South Door received a markedly 18th-century wooden vestibule, and above the 14th-century North Door, a white marble epitaph was added. The church also received three 12-armed golden chandelier
s in 1773.
The addition which has since been removed was a set of raised wooden galleries in the side aisles, which were added to increase capacity in the church. Their installation will have prompted the moving of the font from its orthodox standing place at the South door to the rather unconventional site it now occupies in front of the tower.
The walls of the church were whitewashed at some point during this era.
during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, taking the appearance of the church back to a pre-Reformation
style.
From 1875 onwards, a series of stained glass windows were added.
The organ was installed in 1893 and built by Hill & Son. It was modified in 1922 by Harrison & Harrison
, in 1968 by Rushworth and Dreaper
and in 2007 by Henry Willis & Sons
.
Several images of the Madonna and Child
were installed and private altars were reinstated in the side chapels adjacent to the main chancel.
A choir vestry was added in the form of a small single-storey annex to the North-East of the church in 1915, which was further extended to provide kitchen facilities and access to the main vestry in 1990. Central heating was installed throughout the building.
and was installed in 1875, a window in the South Aisle dates from 1864 and is by Henry Holiday
; those in the South Chapel are from 1936, and by H. G. Hiller; and a window in the North Aisle dated 1927 is by Walter Wilkinson.
The size and shape of the tower at Sefton suggests that it contained at least one bell soon after it was built. No records to confirm this exists however.
The earliest pair of bells at the tower were cast Henri Oldfield and installed in 1588 during the final throes of the Spanish Armada
.
Another pair from Oldfield were installed in 1601, followed by a further pair of lighter bells from William Dobson's foundry in 1815, completing a ring of six.
Sefton's final pair of bells, a treble and second from John Taylor & Co, were added in 1945 following Victory in Europe
.
, and the Molyneux
family of Sefton and Croxteth
, who both have their own side chapel at Sefton. The Rothwells of Ormskirk
, responsible for much of the redecoration of the Victorian period, are also buried here.
Of the Molyneux
family, Sir Richard (d.1290) and Sir William Molyneux (d.1320), knights of the Crusades
, are entombed within the church, and are the its oldest inhabitants. Their effigies now lie beneath an arch moulding set into the wall in the Molyneux chapel, which is outside of the 14th-century church walls.
Of the Blundell family, squires at Little Crosby
since the 11th century, the 17th- and early 18th-century diarist, Nicholas Blundell is entombed in the Blundell family crypt, beneath the Blundell chapel.
In the churchyard, John Saddler, father of Transfer Printing is buried.
These are held on Bank Holiday Mondays and every Sunday in August between 2pm-4pm.
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
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 village of Sefton
Sefton, Sefton
Sefton is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. Located to the south west of Maghull and to the north east of Great Crosby, it is on the flood plain of the River Alt. The village is bisected by the B5422, Brickwall Lane, which cuts also through the...
, Merseyside
Merseyside
Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...
, England , and an active parish church in the Diocese of Liverpool
Anglican Diocese of Liverpool
The Diocese of Liverpool is a Church of England diocese based in Liverpool, covering Merseyside north of the River Mersey along with West Lancashire, Wigan in Greater Manchester, Warrington and Widnes in Cheshire...
, the Archdeaconry of Liverpool and the Deanery of Sefton.
The church has been described as the "Cathedral of the Fields" and "Jewel of South West Lancashire", and is noteworthy as the only Grade I listed building in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton.
St Helen's has gained recognition for its extensive carved Tudor woodwork, which Pollard and Pevsner
Nikolaus Pevsner
Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner, CBE, FBA was a German-born British scholar of history of art and, especially, of history of architecture...
describe as the "great glory of the church", and for its inclusion in Simon Jenkins
Simon Jenkins
Sir Simon David Jenkins is a British newspaper columnist and author, and since November 2008 has been chairman of the National Trust. He currently writes columns for both The Guardian and London's Evening Standard, and was previously a commentator for The Times, which he edited from 1990 to 1992...
' book, England’s Thousand Best Churches, and Clifton-Taylor
Alec Clifton-Taylor
Alec Clifton-Taylor OBE was an English architectural historian, writer and TV broadcaster.-Biography and works:...
's list of 'best' English parish churches.
Consecration
The land was first consecrated in 1170, and a private chapel for the MolyneuxEarl of Sefton
The title Earl of Sefton was created in the Peerage of Ireland in1771 for the 8th Viscount Molyneux. The Earls of Sefton held the subsidiary titles Viscount Molyneux, of Maryborough in the Queen's County , in the Peerage of Ireland, and Baron Sefton, of Croxteth in the County Palatine of Lancaster...
family built soon after. The history of the land before this is unknown, but the distinctive oval shape of the churchyard suggests that it may have been used as Saxon burial ground in pre-Conquest Britain.
Architectural history
A small, decorated chapel in the NormanNorman 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...
architectural style is known to have existed by 1291, when the building's worth was estimated at £26 19s 4d in the Valor of Pope Nicholas IV
Pope Nicholas IV
Pope Nicholas IV , born Girolamo Masci, was Pope from February 22, 1288 to April 4, 1292. A Franciscan friar, he had been legate to the Greeks under Pope Gregory X in 1272, succeeded Bonaventure as Minister General of his religious order in 1274, was made Cardinal Priest of Santa Prassede and...
. No part of this original chapel exists today, however during building works at the East Window in the early 2000s, substantial Norman floor tiles were discovered and are now displayed in the Lady Chapel.
By 1320, the original building had been completely removed and replaced with a more contemporary Decorated Gothic
English Gothic architecture
English Gothic is the name of the architectural style that flourished in England from about 1180 until about 1520.-Introduction:As with the Gothic architecture of other parts of Europe, English Gothic is defined by its pointed arches, vaulted roofs, buttresses, large windows, and spires...
structure, which incorporated a small 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 pointed, geometric tracery windows and pitched roofline. A West tower
Steeple (architecture)
A steeple, in architecture, is a tall tower on a building, often topped by a spire. Steeples are very common on Christian churches and cathedrals and the use of the term generally connotes a religious structure...
with angle buttress
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
es, a cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
and 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...
with beehive-shaped 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 and distinctive tall spire
Spire
A spire is a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, particularly a church tower. Etymologically, the word is derived from the Old English word spir, meaning a sprout, shoot, or stalk of grass....
was also built adjoining it. The spire was partially rebuilt following damage by severe gales in 1802.
Throughout the 14th and 15th centuries, a series of alterations or additions, which may have incorporated 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...
or Lady chapel
Lady chapel
A Lady chapel, also called Mary chapel or Marian chapel, is a traditional English term for a chapel inside a cathedral, basilica, or large church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary...
, seem to have been made to the structure. Evidence of this can be seen in the West window of the North aisle, which is curvilinear in style and shape, and postdates the 14th-century structure.
The current church building
During the reign of King Henry VIIIHenry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
prior to the English Reformation
English Reformation
The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
, the church was given an extensive rebuild.
The 14th-century tower was retained, but everything else was removed and a traditional Tudor
Tudor style architecture
The Tudor architectural style is the final development of medieval architecture during the Tudor period and even beyond, for conservative college patrons...
church in the Perpendicular style was built. This incorporated a new 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 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...
with clerestory
Clerestory
Clerestory is an architectural term that historically denoted an upper level of a Roman basilica or of the nave of a Romanesque or Gothic church, the walls of which rise above the rooflines of the lower aisles and are pierced with windows. In modern usage, clerestory refers to any high windows...
, side aisles and chapels to the North and South, a two-storey porch to the South and small 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 East. The North chapel is the Lady Chapel
Lady chapel
A Lady chapel, also called Mary chapel or Marian chapel, is a traditional English term for a chapel inside a cathedral, basilica, or large church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary...
, and the South chapel, now known as the Molyneux Chapel, was once the 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...
of St Mary.
The vast majority of the church as seen from the South elevation is of new stone dating from this rebuild in the 1530s. However, the East bay of the North aisle uses stonework dating from the 14th century, and the West bay from the 15th century, suggesting that much of the masonry of the earlier structure was incorporated into the new Tudor building. The smaller windows, rough joint with the tower, lack of 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...
parapets, and large sections of arch mouldings which make up the North wall all suggest that this was the case.
Within the chancel, a 15th-century 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 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 a four-arch arcade
Arcade (architecture)
An arcade is a succession of arches, each counterthrusting the next, supported by columns or piers or a covered walk enclosed by a line of such arches on one or both sides. In warmer or wet climates, exterior arcades provide shelter for pedestrians....
, and an ogee
Ogee
An ogee is a curve , shaped somewhat like an S, consisting of two arcs that curve in opposite senses, so that the ends are parallel....
-arched aumbry
Aumbry
In the Middle Ages an aumbry was a cabinet in the wall of a Christian church or in the sacristy which was used to store chalices and other vessels, as well as for the reserved sacrament, the consecrated elements from the Eucharist. This latter use was infrequent in pre-Reformation churches,...
are located to the South of the altar
Altar
An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...
and predate the current structure.
Some time in the late 16th century, a range of typically Elizabethan, rectilinear windows in the late Perpendicular style were installed along the South aisle, flooding the church interior with light. They are plain but contain fragments of pre-Reformation
English Reformation
The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
glass set into leaded panels.
Tudor and Jacobean
The most striking aspect of the church's interior is the complex of seven screens dating to the early to mid 16th century, when the current church was built. They are described by Pollard and Pevsner as the church's "great glory" with the chancel screen forming "the magnificent centrepiece of the whole church". They are richly carved with GothicGothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
and Renaissance
Renaissance architecture
Renaissance architecture is the architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 17th centuries in different regions of Europe, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of ancient Greek and Roman thought and material culture. Stylistically, Renaissance...
motifs, the latter including frieze
Frieze
thumb|267px|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...
s with putti
Putto
A putto is a figure of an infant often depicted as a young male. Putti are defined as chubby, winged or wingless, male child figure in nude. Putti are distinct from cherubim, but some English-speakers confuse them with each other, except that in the plural, "the Cherubim" refers to the biblical...
.
The wooden stalls in the chancel and twenty six rows of pew
Pew
A pew is a long bench seat or enclosed box used for seating members of a congregation or choir in a church, or sometimes in a courtroom.-Overview:Churches were not commonly furnished with permanent pews before the Protestant Reformation...
s lining the nave were carved especially for Sefton, and date to around 1590. They are richly carved and noteworthy in that they display only secular
Secularity
Secularity is the state of being separate from religion.For instance, eating and bathing may be regarded as examples of secular activities, because there may not be anything inherently religious about them...
motifs: unusual given their setting and purpose. They are oak in construction and carry a distinctive poppy head finial
Finial
The finial is an architectural device, typically carved in stone and employed decoratively to emphasize the apex of a gable or any of various distinctive ornaments at the top, end, or corner of a building or structure. Smaller finials can be used as a decorative ornament on the ends of curtain rods...
, fashionable in the 16th century, atop their ends which each display a single letter of the alphabet in Gaelic script.
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 Jacobean
Jacobean era
The Jacobean era refers to the period in English and Scottish history that coincides with the reign of King James VI of Scotland, who also inherited the crown of England in 1603 as James I...
carved wood and dates to 1635. It retains its backplate and sounding-board, and is richly covered in intricately carved Arabesque
Arabesque
The arabesque is a form of artistic decoration consisting of "surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils" or plain lines, often combined with other elements...
decoration.
A large, 14th-century muniment
Muniment
A Muniment or Muniment of Title is a legal term for a document, or other evidence, that indicates ownership of an asset. The word is derived from munimentum, the Latin word for a defensive fortification...
chest, four hatchment
Hatchment
A hatchment is a funeral demonstration of the lifetime "achievement" of the arms and any other honours displayed on a black lozenge-shaped frame which used to be suspended against the wall of a deceased person's house...
s to the Blundell family and a series of carved wooden pews are located in the North and South chapels.
The octagonal baptismal 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:...
which is 15th-century and out of place in the West end of the church, lacks its original painted decoration but has received a plain wooden cover dated 1688. Oak boards painted in gold leaf displaying the Ten Commandments
Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments, also known as the Decalogue , are a set of biblical principles relating to ethics and worship, which play a fundamental role in Judaism and most forms of Christianity. They include instructions to worship only God and to keep the Sabbath, and prohibitions against idolatry,...
and Apostles' Creed hang in the tower and date to a similar period. These would have originally hung on the East wall behind the altar.
The communion rail, with twisted baluster
Baluster
A baluster is a moulded shaft, square or of lathe-turned form, one of various forms of spindle in woodwork, made of stone or wood and sometimes of metal, standing on a unifying footing, and supporting the coping of a parapet or the handrail of a staircase. Multiplied in this way, they form a...
s, dates from between 1690 and 1700.
Georgian
During the 18th century, when the Neo ClassicalNeoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
architectural style was fashionable in Britain, a series of alterations were made to the church's interior.
Those that survive today are the characteristically Georgian
Georgian era
The Georgian era is a period of British history which takes its name from, and is normally defined as spanning the reigns of, the first four Hanoverian kings of Great Britain : George I, George II, George III and George IV...
austere, dark-wood panelling, complete with a relief pillar design highlighted in gold, which replaced the 17th-century Creed and Commandment boards behind the altar. The area around the South Door received a markedly 18th-century wooden vestibule, and above the 14th-century North Door, a white marble epitaph was added. The church also received three 12-armed golden 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...
s in 1773.
The addition which has since been removed was a set of raised wooden galleries in the side aisles, which were added to increase capacity in the church. Their installation will have prompted the moving of the font from its orthodox standing place at the South door to the rather unconventional site it now occupies in front of the tower.
The walls of the church were whitewashed at some point during this era.
Restoration
Following the Victorian Gothic Revival movement of the 1830s, St Helen's was extensively restoredVictorian 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...
during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, taking the appearance of the church back to a pre-Reformation
English Reformation
The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
style.
Victorian Era
Work began in the late 19th century and was completed in 1901. The most significant changes were the removal of the Georgian galleries and whitewashing, but by far the most striking was the addition of the carved wooden ceiling in the nave and side aisles. Taken from an original 16th-century piece of ceiling in the porch, it stretches down the length of the church.From 1875 onwards, a series of stained glass windows were added.
The organ was installed in 1893 and built by Hill & Son. It was modified in 1922 by Harrison & Harrison
Harrison & Harrison
Harrison & Harrison Ltd are a British company that make and restore pipe organs, based in Durham and established in 1861. They are well known for their work on instruments such as King's College Cambridge, Westminster Abbey and the Royal Festival Hall....
, in 1968 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 in 2007 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...
.
Several images of the Madonna and Child
Madonna (art)
Images of the Madonna and the Madonna and Child or Virgin and Child are pictorial or sculptured representations of Mary, Mother of Jesus, either alone, or more frequently, with the infant Jesus. These images are central icons of Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodox Christianity where Mary remains...
were installed and private altars were reinstated in the side chapels adjacent to the main chancel.
The 20th century
Between 1907 and 1922, W.D. Caroe extensively restored the screens and designed the pews lining the side aisles. These replaced family box pews from the 18th century, of which only two were retained at the West end of the North aisle.A choir vestry was added in the form of a small single-storey annex to the North-East of the church in 1915, which was further extended to provide kitchen facilities and access to the main vestry in 1990. Central heating was installed throughout the building.
Windows
Although there are some fragments of stained glass from the 16th century, most of the present windows date from the late 19th century. The East window is by Clayton and BellClayton and Bell
Clayton and Bell was one of the most prolific and proficient workshops of English stained glass during the latter half of the 19th century. The partners were John Richard Clayton and Alfred Bell . The company was founded in 1855 and continued until 1993...
and was installed in 1875, a window in the South Aisle dates from 1864 and is by Henry Holiday
Henry Holiday
Henry Holiday was an English historical genre and landscape painter, stained glass designer, illustrator and sculptor. He is considered to be a member of the Pre-Raphaelite school of art.-Early years and training:...
; those in the South Chapel are from 1936, and by H. G. Hiller; and a window in the North Aisle dated 1927 is by Walter Wilkinson.
Bells
Sefton is an affiliated to the Lancashire Association of Change Ringers' Liverpool branch.The size and shape of the tower at Sefton suggests that it contained at least one bell soon after it was built. No records to confirm this exists however.
The earliest pair of bells at the tower were cast Henri Oldfield and installed in 1588 during the final throes of 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...
.
Another pair from Oldfield were installed in 1601, followed by a further pair of lighter bells from William Dobson's foundry in 1815, completing a ring of six.
Sefton's final pair of bells, a treble and second from John Taylor & Co, were added in 1945 following Victory in Europe
Victory in Europe Day
Victory in Europe Day commemorates 8 May 1945 , the date when the World War II Allies formally accepted the unconditional surrender of the armed forces of Nazi Germany and the end of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich. The formal surrender of the occupying German forces in the Channel Islands was not...
.
Churchyard
In the churchyard are three structures which are listed Grade II. These are the base of a cross which is probably medieval, a sundial probably dating from the 18th century, and the churchyard wall.Notable parishioners
Among those buried at Sefton are the ancestors of the Blundell family of Little CrosbyLittle Crosby
Little Crosby is a small village in Merseyside, North West England. Despite being a suburb within 8 miles of Liverpool it has retained its rural character by, for example, opting not to have street lights....
, and the Molyneux
Earl of Sefton
The title Earl of Sefton was created in the Peerage of Ireland in1771 for the 8th Viscount Molyneux. The Earls of Sefton held the subsidiary titles Viscount Molyneux, of Maryborough in the Queen's County , in the Peerage of Ireland, and Baron Sefton, of Croxteth in the County Palatine of Lancaster...
family of Sefton and Croxteth
Croxteth
Croxteth is a suburb of Liverpool, Merseyside, England and a Liverpool City Council Ward. Although housing in the area is predominantly modern, the suburb has some notable history. It is known locally as "Crocky"...
, who both have their own side chapel at Sefton. The Rothwells of Ormskirk
Ormskirk
Ormskirk is a market town in West Lancashire, England. It is situated north of Liverpool city centre, northwest of St Helens, southeast of Southport and southwest of Preston.-Geography and administration:...
, responsible for much of the redecoration of the Victorian period, are also buried here.
Of the Molyneux
Earl of Sefton
The title Earl of Sefton was created in the Peerage of Ireland in1771 for the 8th Viscount Molyneux. The Earls of Sefton held the subsidiary titles Viscount Molyneux, of Maryborough in the Queen's County , in the Peerage of Ireland, and Baron Sefton, of Croxteth in the County Palatine of Lancaster...
family, Sir Richard (d.1290) and Sir William Molyneux (d.1320), knights of the Crusades
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
, are entombed within the church, and are the its oldest inhabitants. Their effigies now lie beneath an arch moulding set into the wall in the Molyneux chapel, which is outside of the 14th-century church walls.
Of the Blundell family, squires at Little Crosby
Little Crosby
Little Crosby is a small village in Merseyside, North West England. Despite being a suburb within 8 miles of Liverpool it has retained its rural character by, for example, opting not to have street lights....
since the 11th century, the 17th- and early 18th-century diarist, Nicholas Blundell is entombed in the Blundell family crypt, beneath the Blundell chapel.
In the churchyard, John Saddler, father of Transfer Printing is buried.
Visiting Sefton
The Church has open days for the to public visit.These are held on Bank Holiday Mondays and every Sunday in August between 2pm-4pm.