St Wilfrid's Church, Davenham
Encyclopedia
St Wilfrid's Church, Davenham is in the village of Davenham
, 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 Middlewich.
. A later church was built in the 14th century and its chancel was rebuilt in 1680 and again in 1795. The present church dates from 1842–44 when the whole church, other than its tower and steeple, was demolished and replaced by a larger building, designed by the Lancaster
architect Edmund Sharpe
. During this rebuilding, the tower was found to be insecure, but it remained in place until it was struck by lightning on 16 July 1850. The new tower was designed by Sharpe and his partner at the time, E. G. Paley
. The chancel and transepts date from 1870 by the later partners in the practice, Paley and Austin.
ashlar
with a slate
roof. Its plan consists of a west tower, a five-bay
nave
with a clerestory
, north and south aisle
s, a chancel
with a north vestry
and a south chantry chapel, and a southwestern porch. The tower has an octagonal spire with three tiers of lucarne
s.
. The reredos
contains an alabaster
relief
depicting The Last Supper. The monuments in the church include ones to William Tomkinson who died in 1770 by Benjamin Bromfield, to Mrs France who died in 1814 by S. and F. Franceys of Liverpool
, to Mrs Harper dated 1833 by Francesco Pozzi of Florence
with a relief of a mother and child, and to Frederick and Cecil France-Hayhurst
who died in 1915, by Underwood. In the south aisle is a war memorial chapel designed by Sir Robert Lorimer
. It contains a reredos with carvings of personifications of virtues, framed by carved frieze
s, and posts surmounted by angels. There are stained glass windows by David Evans of Shrewsbury
dating from the early 19th century, and by J. C. Bewsey dated 1932. The ring
consists of six bells. Four of these, dated 1757, 1761 (2), and 1765 are by Rudhall of Gloucester
and a bell dated 1826 is by Thomas Mears II of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry
. The sixth bell, which is undated, is by William Noone.
, a merchant who died in 1808, and members of his family. It is listed Grade II. Also listed Grade II is the lych gate which dates from the late 19th century, and was designed by E. G. Paley
. Also in he churchyard is a memorial to th Russell Allen family, with dates including 1927, also by Lorimer.
Davenham
Davenham is a rural village and civil parish approximately south of the town of Northwich, part of the Borough of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire in England. It has a population of 5,655. The village is close to the A556 and A533 roads and both the River Dane and...
, 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 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 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 Middlewich.
History
A church on the site was 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...
. A later church was built in the 14th century and its chancel was rebuilt in 1680 and again in 1795. The present church dates from 1842–44 when the whole church, other than its tower and steeple, was demolished and replaced by a larger building, designed by the Lancaster
Lancaster, Lancashire
Lancaster is the county town of Lancashire, England. It is situated on the River Lune and has a population of 45,952. Lancaster is a constituent settlement of the wider City of Lancaster, local government district which has a population of 133,914 and encompasses several outlying towns, including...
architect Edmund Sharpe
Edmund Sharpe
Edmund Sharpe was an English architect and engineer. He started his career as an architect, initially on his own, then in partnership with Edward Paley, designing mainly churches but also some secular buildings...
. During this rebuilding, the tower was found to be insecure, but it remained in place until it was struck by lightning on 16 July 1850. The new tower was designed by Sharpe and his partner at the time, E. G. Paley
Edward Graham Paley
Edward Graham Paley, usually known as E. G. Paley, , was an English architect who practised in Lancaster, Lancashire, in the second half of the 19th century.-Education and career:...
. The chancel and transepts date from 1870 by the later partners in the practice, Paley and Austin.
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,...
ashlar
Ashlar
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...
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 west tower, a five-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 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...
, north and south 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, 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...
with a north 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 chantry chapel, and a southwestern porch. The tower has an octagonal spire with three tiers of lucarne
Lucarne
A lucarne is a small dormer window that is built on a spire or roof during the Gothic and Romanesque time period....
s.
Interior
In the chancel is a two-arched sediliaSedilia
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 an alabaster
Alabaster
Alabaster is a name applied to varieties of two distinct minerals, when used as a material: gypsum and calcite . The former is the alabaster of the present day; generally, the latter is the alabaster of the ancients...
relief
Relief
Relief is a sculptural technique. The term relief is from the Latin verb levo, to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is thus to give the impression that the sculpted material has been raised above the background plane...
depicting The Last Supper. The monuments in the church include ones to William Tomkinson who died in 1770 by Benjamin Bromfield, to Mrs France who died in 1814 by S. and F. Franceys of Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, to Mrs Harper dated 1833 by Francesco Pozzi of Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
with a relief of a mother and child, and to Frederick and Cecil France-Hayhurst
France-Hayhurst family
The France-Hayhurst family lived in Bostock Hall near to Middlewich in Cheshire, England from 1775, until the house was sold to the local council in the 1950s...
who died in 1915, by Underwood. In the south aisle is a war memorial chapel designed by Sir Robert Lorimer
Robert Lorimer
Sir Robert Stodart Lorimer was a prolific Scottish architect noted for his restoration work on historic houses and castles, and for promotion of the Arts and Crafts style.-Early life:...
. It contains a reredos with carvings of personifications of virtues, framed by carved 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, and posts surmounted by angels. There are stained glass windows 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...
dating from the early 19th century, and by J. C. Bewsey dated 1932. 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 six bells. Four of these, dated 1757, 1761 (2), and 1765 are by Rudhall of Gloucester
Rudhall of Gloucester
Rudhall of Gloucester was a family business of bell founders in the city of Gloucester, England, who between 1684 and 1835 produced over 5,000 bells. The business was founded by Abraham Rudhall and the earliest ring of bells he cast was for St Nicholas' Church, Oddington in 1684. He came to be...
and a bell dated 1826 is by Thomas Mears II 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...
. The sixth bell, which is undated, is by William Noone.
External features
In the churchyard is a table tomb to the memory of William Worthington of LeftwichLeftwich
Leftwich is a village in Cheshire, England. It lies just south of the town of Northwich, and is situated within the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester....
, a merchant who died in 1808, and members of his family. It is listed Grade II. Also listed Grade II is the lych gate which dates from the late 19th century, and was designed by E. G. Paley
Edward Graham Paley
Edward Graham Paley, usually known as E. G. Paley, , was an English architect who practised in Lancaster, Lancashire, in the second half of the 19th century.-Education and career:...
. Also in he churchyard is a memorial to th Russell Allen family, with dates including 1927, also by Lorimer.
See also
- List of architectural works by Edmund Sharpe
- List of works by Sharpe and Paley
- List of ecclesiastical works by Paley and Austin