Calveley Church facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Calveley Church |
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Calveley Church from the north
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| Location | Calveley, Cheshire |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Website | Calveley Church |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | Grade II |
| Designated | 6 July 1984 |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Brick, slate roofs |
| Administration | |
| Parish | Bunbury |
| Deanery | Malpas |
| Archdeaconry | Chester |
| Diocese | Chester |
| Province | York |
Calveley Church is a special building located in the village of Calveley, Cheshire, England. It's an active Anglican church, meaning it's still used for worship today. It belongs to the larger church area of St Boniface, Bunbury. This church is so important that it's officially recognized as a Grade II listed building in England. This means it has historical or architectural value and is protected.
Contents
The Story of Calveley Church
This church building has a really interesting past! It started out in the 1600s as a simple barn. Later, it became a coach house, which is like a garage for horse-drawn carriages, for the nearby Calveley Hall.
Around 1838, the coach house was changed into a chapel for the hall. This was a private place of worship for the people living at Calveley Hall. In 1911, the de Knoop family, who owned the hall, made the church bigger. They added a vestry, which is a room where clergy prepare for services. They also updated the inside of the church.
During the First World War, Calveley Hall and the church were used as a hospital. Wounded soldiers were cared for there. After the Second World War, Calveley Hall became empty and started to fall apart. It was eventually taken down in 1952.
Even though the hall was gone, people wanted to save the church. Money was raised by the community to make sure the church could continue to be used by local residents. Later, it became part of the larger church area of Bunbury.
What the Church Looks Like
Outside the Church
The church is built with whitewashed bricks and has a slate roof. It has a rectangular shape. The main part of the church is called the nave, which has three sections, and there's a smaller section called the chancel at the end.
On the north side, there's a room for the organ and a porch that sticks out. The porch is made of timber-framed wood and sits on a stone base called a sandstone plinth. It has pretty stained glass in its side windows. Above the entrance to the porch, you can see an old message carved into the stone.
The windows of the church have stone bars called mullions and horizontal bars called transoms. At the very top of the pointed parts of the roof, called gables, there are decorative stone pieces called finials.
Inside the Church
When you go inside, you'll notice that the furniture and decorations are in a style called Jacobean. This style was popular in England in the early 1600s. These furnishings were added during the updates in 1911.
There's a special screen with five arches that separates the nave from the chancel. An oak crucifix (a cross with a figure of Jesus) is on top of this screen. Attached to the screen are the pulpit, where the sermon is given, and the lectern, where readings are done.
On the west wall, there are two old wooden panels. These panels are from the late medieval period and used to be part of an altar. They show scenes from the Nativity, which is the story of Jesus's birth. You can also see a special metal plaque, called a brass, remembering a member of the de Knoop family who passed away in 1916.
The beautiful stained glass windows were made by a company called Powells. The church also has an organ with two manuals (keyboards), which was built in 1911 by Samuel Whitely.
See also
- Listed buildings in Calveley
