St Mary's Church, Bruera
Encyclopedia
St Mary's Church, Bruera is in the small settlement of Bruera, which lies between the villages of Saighton
and Aldford
, in Cheshire
, England. It has been designated by English Heritage
as a Grade II* listed building. The church contains Norman
elements, but it has been subjected to alterations and modifications, particularly in 1896. 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 those of St Peter, Waverton
, and St John the Baptist, Aldford
.
and the first mention of the church is in the Chartulary
of St Werburgh's Abbey, Chester
dating from around 1150. It was then a chapel in the parish of St Oswald's, Chester. Richards states that the church was in existence in Saxon
times but this is disputed. The fabric of the present church dates from the Norman
period and there have been a number of additions and restorations since. The Norman south doorway was rebuilt in the 14th century. Also in the 14th century and later windows were modified and in the 15th century a south chapel was added. The east window is Decorated in style and the south chapel is Perpendicular. A major restoration
was carried out in 1896 by W. M. Boden at expense of the 1st Duke of Westminster
involving the south porch and vestry, and a belfry
was added.
with a slate
roof. At the west end is an oak-framed, louvre
d belfry with a low square shingled
spire. The plan consists of a nave
without aisle
s and a chancel
. To the south are a porch, a chapel and a vestry
. The chancel arch is basically Norman, but there have been later modifications. The south doorway contains Norman masonry, and includes ten voussoir
s, four of which have carvings.
chairs are Jacobean
. On the south wall are the arms
of Charles II
. The font
consists of a stone baluster
with a hollowed trough, dating probably from the 17th century. The stained glass in the north window dated 1897 is in the Arts and Crafts
style. The chapel contains wall memorials to Sir Robert Cunliffe, who died in 1778, and to Sir Ellis Cunliffe, who died in 1767, both with putti
, by Joseph Nollekens
. The two-manual
organ was built in 1869 by H. Moulding and Co. The parish register
s date from 1657.
and the remains of a stone cross which has been converted into a sundial
. Its shaft is dated 1693 and the head 1736. The sundial is a scheduled ancient monument
.
Saighton
Saighton is a civil parish and village in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, a few miles south of Chester...
and Aldford
Aldford
Aldford is a village and civil parish in the county of Cheshire, England, south of Chester . It has a population of 213.The village lies on the east bank of the River Dee...
, in 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. The church contains 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...
elements, but it has been subjected to alterations and modifications, particularly in 1896. 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 those of St Peter, Waverton
St Peter's Church, Waverton
St Peter's Church, Waverton is in the village of Waverton, Cheshire, England. The church has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of Malpas...
, and St John the Baptist, Aldford
St John the Baptist's Church, Aldford
St John the Baptist's Church, Aldford is located in the village of Aldford, Cheshire, England. The church has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of...
.
History
The settlement of Bruera is not recorded in the Domesday BookDomesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
and the first mention of the church is in the Chartulary
Chartulary
A cartulary or chartulary , also called Pancarta and Codex Diplomaticus, is a medieval manuscript volume or roll containing transcriptions of original documents relating to the foundation, privileges, and legal rights of ecclesiastical establishments, municipal corporations, industrial...
of St Werburgh's Abbey, 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...
dating from around 1150. It was then a chapel in the parish of St Oswald's, Chester. Richards states that the church was in existence in Saxon
Anglo-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...
times but this is disputed. The fabric of the present church dates 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 and there have been a number of additions and restorations since. The Norman south doorway was rebuilt in the 14th century. Also in the 14th century and later windows were modified and in the 15th century a south chapel was added. The east window is Decorated in style and the south chapel is Perpendicular. 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...
was carried out in 1896 by W. M. Boden at expense of the 1st Duke of Westminster
Hugh Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster
Hugh Lupus Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster KG, PC, JP , styled Viscount Belgrave between 1831 and 1845 and Earl Grosvenor between 1845 and 1869 and known as the 3rd Marquess of Westminster between 1869 and 1874, was an English landowner, politician and racehorse owner.He inherited the estate of...
involving the south porch and vestry, and a 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...
was added.
Exterior
The church is 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 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. At the west end is an oak-framed, louvre
Louvre
The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
d belfry with a low square shingled
Roof shingle
Roof shingles are a roof covering consisting of individual overlapping elements. These elements are typically flat rectangular shapes laid in rows from the bottom edge of the roof up, with each successive higher row overlapping the joints in the row below...
spire. The plan consists of 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...
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 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...
. To the south are a porch, a chapel and 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....
. The chancel arch is basically Norman, but there have been later modifications. The south doorway contains Norman masonry, and includes ten voussoir
Voussoir
A voussoir is a wedge-shaped element, typically a stone, used in building an arch or vault.Although each unit in an arch or vault is a voussoir, two units are of distinct functional importance: the keystone and the springer. The keystone is the center stone or masonry unit at the apex of an arch. A...
s, four of which have carvings.
Interior
The altar table and chancel gates date from the 18th century while the sanctuarySanctuary
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...
chairs are 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...
. On the south wall are the 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 Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
. 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:...
consists of a stone 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...
with a hollowed trough, dating probably from the 17th century. The stained glass in the north window dated 1897 is in the Arts and Crafts
Arts and Crafts movement
Arts and Crafts was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910 , continuing its influence until the 1930s...
style. The chapel contains wall memorials to Sir Robert Cunliffe, who died in 1778, and to Sir Ellis Cunliffe, who died in 1767, both 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...
, by Joseph Nollekens
Joseph Nollekens
Joseph Nollekens was a sculptor from London generally considered to be the finest British sculptor of the late 18th century. He was also a founder member of the Royal Academy in 1768.-Life:...
. The two-manual
Manual (music)
A manual is a keyboard designed to be played with the hands on a pipe organ, harpsichord, clavichord, electronic organ, or synthesizer. The term "manual" is used with regard to any hand keyboard on these instruments to distinguish it from the pedalboard, which is a keyboard that the organist plays...
organ was built in 1869 by H. Moulding and 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 1657.
External features
In the churchyard are some ancient yew treesTaxus baccata
Taxus baccata is a conifer native to western, central and southern Europe, northwest Africa, northern Iran and southwest Asia. It is the tree originally known as yew, though with other related trees becoming known, it may be now known as the English yew, or European yew.-Description:It is a small-...
and the remains of a stone cross which has been converted into a sundial
Sundial
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...
. Its shaft is dated 1693 and the head 1736. The sundial is a scheduled ancient monument
Scheduled Ancient Monument
In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a 'nationally important' archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorized change. The various pieces of legislation used for legally protecting heritage assets from damage and destruction are grouped under the term...
.