All Saints' Church, Daresbury Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids All Saints' Church, Daresbury
All Saints' Church from the south
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OS grid reference	SJ 580,828
Location	Daresbury, Cheshire
Country	England
Denomination	Church of England
Churchmanship	Liberal Catholic
History
Status	Parish church
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade II*
Designated	8 January 1970
Architect(s)	Paley and Austin
Architectural type	Church
Style	Gothic, Gothic Revival
Completed	1872; 153 years ago (1872)
Specifications
Materials	Red sandstone, slate roof
Administration
Parish	All Saints, Daresbury
Deanery	Great Budworth
Archdeaconry	Chester
Diocese	Chester
Province	York

Tower

All Saints' Church is located in the village of Daresbury, Cheshire, England. It is famous for its connection to Lewis Carroll, the author of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. You can see characters from his books in the church's beautiful stained glass windows.

This church is a very old and important building. It is listed as a Grade II* listed building, which means it's historically significant. All Saints' Church is an active Church of England parish church. Lewis Carroll, whose real name was Charles Dodgson, was born in the vicarage (the church house) in Daresbury in 1832. His father was a priest at this very church. In 2012, the Lewis Carroll Centre, which is connected to the church, was opened to celebrate his life and work.

A Look at the Church's Past
What the Church Looks Like
- Outside the Church
- Inside the Church
Outside the Church Grounds
Lewis Carroll Centre
Gallery
See also

A Look at the Church's Past

In the 1100s, a small chapel was built here. It was like a smaller church connected to a bigger one called Norton Priory. This chapel was part of the Runcorn parish. After the Protestant Reformation, when the church in England changed, the ownership of the Runcorn parish went to Christ Church, Oxford. The stone tower you see today was probably built around this time.

The church building, except for the tower, was mostly rebuilt between 1870 and 1872. This work was done by architects Paley and Austin. They made the church longer and added new parts like a porch and a room for the clergy. Sadly, during this rebuilding, an old wooden screen that separated parts of the church was removed. In 1880, Daresbury became its own separate parish, no longer part of Runcorn.

What the Church Looks Like

Outside the Church

The church is built from red sandstone and has a slate roof. The style of the church building is called Perpendicular Gothic, which was popular in England. The church has a long main area called a nave with side sections called aisles. There's a tower at the west end of the nave. The tower has strong supports called buttresses and a decorative top edge called crenellation. On top of the tower, there's a weather vane shaped like a fish!

You might see the date 1110 carved on the south side of the tower. However, experts believe this was originally 1550, but the numbers wore away and were misread during repairs. At the east end of the south aisle, there's a special part called the Daniell Chapel. It was renamed to honor an old Cheshire family connected to Daresbury.

Inside the Church

Inside, the main arches are supported by simple eight-sided columns. The pulpit, where sermons are given, is from the Jacobean era (early 1600s). It has detailed carvings of angels' heads. One carving even looks like the griffin from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland!

The Baptismal font, used for baptisms, is from the 1800s. Its fancy wooden cover was a gift from Lady Greenall. Behind the altar, you can spot a carving of a "green man" on a reused Jacobean screen. The ends of the oak benches have interesting carved patterns. In the bell tower, there's a board with a special poem called an acrostic about the name "Daresbury."

The Nativity window commemorating Lewis Carroll

The stained glass windows in the south aisle show ten of the Twelve Apostles (Jesus's main followers, without Judas Iscariot). These were given by the Stubbs family in the mid-1800s.

The most famous window is in the Daniell Chapel. It features characters from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland! This window was put in place in 1935 to celebrate 100 years since Lewis Carroll's birth. It was designed by Geoffrey Webb. The top parts of the window show a Nativity scene (the birth of Jesus) and angels. On the left, you can see Lewis Carroll himself with Alice Liddell, the girl who inspired Alice.

The window also includes symbols related to Carroll's life, like the Cheshire wheatsheaf (a symbol of Cheshire), the symbols of Rugby School and Christ Church, Oxford (where he studied), and even mathematical tools. At the bottom of the window, there are five panels with characters from the Alice books, along with words from Carroll's poem Christmas Greetings. These characters are based on the famous drawings by John Tenniel.

On the south wall, there are more windows designed by Trena Cox. These show The Flight into Egypt and The Annunciation. They were given to the church in 1960 in memory of the Broome family.

The church also has several memorials. One old memorial by John Gibson remembers Sarah Byrom, who died in 1833. Other memorials remember people like Radulphus Starkie (1600s) and Rebecca Rutter (1725). In the chancel (the area near the altar), there's a memorial to George Heron, a priest who baptized Lewis Carroll. There are also two special metal plaques called brasses for members of the Greenall family.

The organ in the church has two keyboards and was built by Jardine. It was repaired in 2002. The church has a set of eight bells, all made in 1913. The church's old records, called parish registers, go all the way back to 1617!

Outside the Church Grounds

In the churchyard, you can find a 16th-century font. This is where Lewis Carroll and many others were baptized. The churchyard also contains the war graves of two soldiers and a Royal Navy schoolmaster from World War I.

Lewis Carroll Centre

The Lewis Carroll Centre is a special building attached to the north side of the church. It has a curved shape and tall windows. Inside, you'll find information panels that tell you all about Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) and his family. There's also an old bell that used to call canal workers to church services on a floating church boat! The centre is also used as a meeting place for schools and other groups. Both the church and the centre are open every day, and you can visit for free.