St Peter's Church, Ashton-under-Lyne
Encyclopedia
St Peter's Church, Ashton-under-Lyne, is located in Manchester Road, Ashton-under-Lyne
, Greater Manchester
, England. It is an active Anglican
parish church
in the deanery of Ashton-under-Lyne, the archdeaconry of Rochdale, and the diocese of Manchester
. With four other local churches, it is part of the Parish of the Good Shepherd, Ashton-under-Lyne. The church has been designated by English Heritage
as a Grade II* listed building. It is a Commissioners' church
, having received a grant towards its construction from the Church Building Commission. The authors of the Buildings of England
series consider it to be a "large and ambitious" church. In the National Heritage List for England it is described as a "particularly imposing and elaborate example of a Commissioner's Church".
. A grant of £13,191 (£ as of ) was given towards its construction by the Church Building Commission. The land for the church was given by the 6th Earl of Stamford
. It was the first of three churches designed by Goodwin for the Commission in the Manchester
area. In 1840 a clock was installed with its face at the east end, the mechanism at the west end, and connected by a drive shaft running the whole length of the church. During the later part of the 20th century, the west end was divided under the gallery.
stone with a slate
roof. Its plan consists of a seven-bay
nave
with a cant
ed vestry
at the east end acting as a chancel
. At the west end is a tower. The tower is in three stages with buttress
es at the corners rising to piers
surmounted by pinnacle
s. It has a west door over which is a three-stage window. At a higher level are clock faces under gable
ts. In the top stage are pairs of open pointed arches acting as bell openings. The parapet
is also open and is traceried
. Each bay of the nave contains a three-light transomed
window. These contain tracery
in Perpendicular style constructed in cast iron
and painted to look like stone. Between the bays are buttresses rising to pinnacles. The pinnacles at the corners of the church are crocket
ed. At the east end is a rose window
, above which is a clock face in the gable.
cast iron columns. The church originally contained box pew
s but these, and many other furnishings, have since been removed. The stained glass in the east rose window dates from the 1830s, and is by David Evans of Shrewsbury
; it depicts the twelve apostles. On the north side of the church is a window by W. Pointer dating from 1923, and three windows by Curtis, Ward and Hughes from the 1890s and 1901. The south side includes windows by Lavers and Westlake
. The three-manual
organ was built in 1831 by Samuel Renn
, and rebuilt in 1959 by J. J. Binns
. The ring
consists of eight bells, all cast in 1871 by Mears and Stainbank of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry
.
Ashton-under-Lyne
Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. Historically a part of Lancashire, it lies on the north bank of the River Tame, on undulating land at the foothills of the Pennines...
, Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and 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 deanery of Ashton-under-Lyne, the archdeaconry of Rochdale, and the diocese of Manchester
Anglican Diocese of Manchester
The Diocese of Manchester is a Church of England diocese in the Province of York, England. Based in the city of Manchester, the diocese covers much of the county of Greater Manchester and small areas of the counties of Lancashire and Cheshire.-History:...
. With four other local churches, it is part of the Parish of the Good Shepherd, Ashton-under-Lyne. 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. It is a Commissioners' church
Commissioners' church
A Commissioners' church is an Anglican church in the United Kingdom built with money voted by Parliament as a result of the Church Building Act of 1818 and 1824. They have been given a number of titles, including Commissioners' churches, Waterloo churches and Million Act churches...
, having received a grant towards its construction from the Church Building Commission. The authors of the Buildings of England
Pevsner Architectural Guides
The Pevsner Architectural Guides are a series of guide books to the architecture of the British Isles. Begun in the 1940s by art historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, the 46 volumes of the Buildings of England series were published between 1951 and 1975. The series was then extended to Scotland and...
series consider it to be a "large and ambitious" church. In the National Heritage List for England it is described as a "particularly imposing and elaborate example of a Commissioner's Church".
History
St Peter's was built between 1821 and 1824, and was designed by Francis GoodwinFrancis Goodwin
Francis Goodwin was an English architect, best known for his many provincial churches in the Gothic revival style, civic buildings such as the first Manchester Town Hall and Macclesfield town hall , plus country houses such as Lissadell House, County Sligo .Goodwin was born at King's Lynn,...
. A grant of £13,191 (£ as of ) was given towards its construction by the Church Building Commission. The land for the church was given by the 6th Earl of Stamford
George Grey, 6th Earl of Stamford
George Harry Grey, 6th Earl of Stamford and 2nd Earl of Warrington , styled Lord Grey from 1768 to 1819, was a British peer and politician....
. It was the first of three churches designed by Goodwin for the Commission in the Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
area. In 1840 a clock was installed with its face at the east end, the mechanism at the west end, and connected by a drive shaft running the whole length of the church. During the later part of the 20th century, the west end was divided under the gallery.
Exterior
The church is constructed in ashlarAshlar
Ashlar is prepared stone work of any type of stone. Masonry using such stones laid in parallel courses is known as ashlar masonry, whereas masonry using irregularly shaped stones is known as rubble masonry. Ashlar blocks are rectangular cuboid blocks that are masonry sculpted to have square edges...
stone 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. Its plan consists of a seven-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...
with a cant
Cant
Cant, canting, or canted may refer to:*Empty, uncritical thought or talk - see *The slope or angle at which something is set, such as the frames of a ship's hull - again, see *Cant , a secret language...
ed 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....
at the east end acting as 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...
. At the west end is a tower. The tower is in three stages with buttress
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
es at the corners rising to piers
Pier (architecture)
In architecture, a pier is an upright support for a superstructure, such as an arch or bridge. Sections of wall between openings function as piers. The simplest cross section of the pier is square, or rectangular, although other shapes are also common, such as the richly articulated piers of Donato...
surmounted by 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. It has a west door over which is a three-stage window. At a higher level are clock faces under gable
Gable
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...
ts. In the top stage are pairs of open pointed arches acting as bell openings. The 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...
is also open and is traceried
Tracery
In architecture, Tracery is the stonework elements that support the glass in a Gothic window. The term probably derives from the 'tracing floors' on which the complex patterns of late Gothic windows were laid out.-Plate tracery:...
. Each bay of the nave contains a three-light transomed
Transom (architectural)
In architecture, a transom is the term given to a transverse beam or bar in a frame, or to the crosspiece separating a door or the like from a window or fanlight above it. Transom is also the customary U.S. word used for a transom light, the window over this crosspiece...
window. These contain tracery
Tracery
In architecture, Tracery is the stonework elements that support the glass in a Gothic window. The term probably derives from the 'tracing floors' on which the complex patterns of late Gothic windows were laid out.-Plate tracery:...
in Perpendicular style constructed in cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
and painted to look like stone. Between the bays are buttresses rising to pinnacles. The pinnacles at the corners of the church are crocket
Crocket
A crocket is a hook-shaped decorative element common in Gothic architecture. It is in the form of a stylised carving of curled leaves, buds or flowers which is used at regular intervals to decorate the sloping edges of spires, finials, pinnacles, and wimpergs....
ed. At the east end is a rose window
Rose window
A Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in churches of the Gothic architectural style and being divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery...
, above which is a clock face in the gable.
Interior
There are galleries on three sides in the church, carried on quatrefoilQuatrefoil
The word quatrefoil etymologically means "four leaves", and applies to general four-lobed shapes in various contexts.-In heraldry:In heraldic terminology, a quatrefoil is a representation of a flower with four petals, or a leaf with four leaflets . It is sometimes shown "slipped", i.e. with an...
cast iron columns. The church originally contained 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 but these, and many other furnishings, have since been removed. The stained glass in the east rose window dates from the 1830s, and is by David Evans of Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
; it depicts the twelve apostles. On the north side of the church is a window by W. Pointer dating from 1923, and three windows by Curtis, Ward and Hughes from the 1890s and 1901. The south side includes windows by Lavers and Westlake
Lavers, Barraud and Westlake
Lavers, Barraud and Westlake were an English firm that produced stained glass windows from 1855 until 1921. They were part of the Gothic Revival movement that affected English church architecture in the 19th century.-History:...
. The three-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 1831 by Samuel Renn
Samuel Renn
Samuel Renn was an English organ builder who ran a business in Stockport, and later he traded in Manchester.Renn was born in Kedleston, Derbyshire and in 1799 was apprenticed to his uncle, James Davis, an organ builder in London. Renn became his foreman and supervised organ installations and...
, and rebuilt in 1959 by J. J. Binns
James Jepson Binns
James Jepson Binns was a pipe organ builder based in Leeds-Organs:Pipe organs at the following locations were either built or rebuilt by James Jepson Binns or his JJ Binns company. A number of these buildings have been demolished and the organs broken up or destroyed...
. 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, all cast in 1871 by Mears and Stainbank of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry
Whitechapel Bell Foundry
The Whitechapel Bell Foundry is a bell foundry in Whitechapel in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, in the East End of London. The foundry is listed by the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest manufacturing company in Great Britain...
.