St John the Evangelist's Church, Warrington
Encyclopedia
St John the Evangelist's Church, Warrington is in Walton
, Warrington
, Cheshire
, England. It has been designated by English Heritage
as a Grade II* listed building. It was built as a private estate church towards the end of the 19th century but is now an active Anglican
parish church
in the diocese of Liverpool
, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of Great Budworth.
estate of the Greenall family, brewers
and distillers
. It was built at the expense of Sir Gilbert Greenall
and designed by
Paley and Austin.
with Westmorland
green slate
roofs. Its plan is cruciform
with a three-bay
nave
, north and south transept
s, a two-bay chancel
, a south vestry
, and a south porch. The tower is in four stages with chequerwork in its third stage, a recessed octagonal spire and an octagonal north west stair turret
. The porch consists of an oak frame on a 6 feet (2 m) sandstone plinth
. The church is in Decorated style.
s. On the south side of the chancel is sedilia
. The reredos
contains a carving of the Crucifixion
. The font
is marble
, and the pulpit
is built of oak on a stone base. The floors are tiled. The stained glass includes a window in the south transept dated 1929 by Morris and Co. and elsewhere by Shrigley and Hunt
.
s on brackets. It was built at the expense of Sir Gilbert Greenall and was probably designed by Paley and Austin. It is listed Grade II.
Walton, Cheshire
Walton is a civil parish within the borough of Warrington in Cheshire, northern England.Walton is at the southwest edge of the borough, next to the parish of Stockton Heath. It is also close to Daresbury and Moore, although these are in the neighbouring borough of Halton.Walton is divided into...
, 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 built as a private estate church towards the end of the 19th century but is now 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 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 Chester and the deanery of Great Budworth.
History
The church was built in 1885 to serve the Walton HallWalton Hall, Cheshire
Walton Hall is a country house in Walton, Warrington, Cheshire, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building. The hall and its surrounding garden and grounds are owned and administered by Warrington Borough Council....
estate of the Greenall family, brewers
Brewing
Brewing is the production of beer through steeping a starch source in water and then fermenting with yeast. Brewing has taken place since around the 6th millennium BCE, and archeological evidence suggests that this technique was used in ancient Egypt...
and distillers
Distilled beverage
A distilled beverage, liquor, or spirit is an alcoholic beverage containing ethanol that is produced by distilling ethanol produced by means of fermenting grain, fruit, or vegetables...
. It was built at the expense of Sir Gilbert Greenall
Sir Gilbert Greenall, 1st Baronet
Sir Gilbert Greenall, 1st Baronet , was a British businessman and Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1847 and 1892....
and designed by
Paley and Austin.
Exterior
The church is built in red snecked 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 Westmorland
Westmorland
Westmorland is an area of North West England and one of the 39 historic counties of England. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974, after which the entirety of the county was absorbed into the new county of Cumbria.-Early history:...
green 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...
roofs. Its plan is cruciform
Cruciform
Cruciform means having the shape of a cross or Christian cross.- Cruciform architectural plan :This is a common description of Christian churches. In Early Christian, Byzantine and other Eastern Orthodox forms of church architecture this is more likely to mean a tetraconch plan, a Greek cross,...
with a three-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...
, north and south transept
Transept
For the periodical go to The Transept.A transept is a transverse section, of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In Christian churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture...
s, a two-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...
, a south 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 south porch. The tower is in four stages with chequerwork in its third stage, a recessed octagonal spire and an octagonal north west 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...
. The porch consists of an oak frame on a 6 feet (2 m) sandstone plinth
Plinth
In architecture, a plinth is the base or platform upon which a column, pedestal, statue, monument or structure rests. Gottfried Semper's The Four Elements of Architecture posited that the plinth, the hearth, the roof, and the wall make up all of architectural theory. The plinth usually rests...
. The church is in Decorated style.
Interior
The nave and chancels have barrel roofBarrel roof
A barrel roof is a curved roof that, especially from below, is curved like a cut-away barrel. They have some advantages over dome roofs, especially being able to cover rectangular buildings., due to their uniform cross-section....
s. On the south side of the chancel is 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...
. The reredos
Reredos
thumb|300px|right|An altar and reredos from [[St. Josaphat's Roman Catholic Church|St. Josaphat Catholic Church]] in [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]]. This would be called a [[retable]] in many other languages and countries....
contains a carving of the Crucifixion
Crucifixion of Jesus
The crucifixion of Jesus and his ensuing death is an event that occurred during the 1st century AD. Jesus, who Christians believe is the Son of God as well as the Messiah, was arrested, tried, and sentenced by Pontius Pilate to be scourged, and finally executed on a cross...
. 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 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...
, 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 built of oak on a stone base. The floors are tiled. The stained glass includes a window in the south transept dated 1929 by Morris and Co. and elsewhere by Shrigley and Hunt
Shrigley and Hunt
Shrigley and Hunt was the name of an English firm which produced stained glass windows and art tiles.The business began in the 1750s when Shrigley's was a painting, carving and gilding firm in Lancaster, Lancashire....
.
External features
The lych gate dating from around 1885 is built in red sandstone with a Westmorland green slate roof and half-timbered gableGable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
s on brackets. It was built at the expense of Sir Gilbert Greenall and was probably designed by Paley and Austin. It is listed Grade II.