Christ Church, Birkenhead facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Christ Church, Birkenhead
Christ Church from the northeast
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OS grid reference	SJ 309 879
Location	Christchurch Road, Oxton, Birkenhead, Wirral, Merseyside
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Churchmanship	Conservative Evangelical
Website	Christ Church, Birkenhead
History
Status	Parish church
Consecrated	3 March 1854
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade II
Designated	28 March 1974
Architect(s)	William Jearrad
Architectural type	Church
Style	Gothic Revival
Groundbreaking	1844
Completed	1849
Construction cost	£9,000
Specifications
Materials	Sandstone, slate roof
Administration
Parish	Birkenhead Christ Church
Deanery	Birkenhead
Archdeaconry	Chester
Diocese	Chester
Province	York

Christ Church is a beautiful old church located in Christchurch Road, Oxton, Birkenhead, in Merseyside, England. It's an active Anglican parish church, which means it's part of the Church of England and still holds regular services. This church is quite special because it's listed as a Grade II building on the National Heritage List for England. This means it's an important historical building that needs to be protected. The church is built on a sloped piece of land, which makes its design even more interesting.

History of Christ Church

Christ Church was built between 1844 and 1849. It was designed by an architect named William Jearrad. The church cost about £9,000 to build back then, which was a lot of money! It first opened for people to worship on 25 February 1849. However, it wasn't officially "consecrated" (blessed for holy use) until 3 March 1854. This special ceremony was led by Bishop John Graham of Chester.

The church was built to hold many people, with seating for 1,209. Later, between 1878 and 1880, some changes were made to the east end of the church. Because the ground sloped, two staircases were added for extra exits. Two new rooms were also built on the lower level.

In 1881, the organ and choir moved from the west gallery. The organ went to a new room in the south transept (a part of the church that sticks out like an arm). The choir moved closer to the chancel (the area around the altar). The pulpit (where sermons are given) was made lower, and a clock was added to the spire. In 1992, the roof and ceiling were replaced, and the inside of the church was reorganized.

A big storm on Christmas Eve in 1997 damaged the spire, so it had to be rebuilt. In November 2018, a special TV show called Songs of Praise was filmed at the church. This was to remember 100 years since the death of Wilfred Owen, a famous war poet who used to attend Christ Church when he was young.

Architecture of Christ Church

Outside the Church

Christ Church is built from red sandstone, which came from local quarries (places where stone is dug out). The roof is made of Welsh slate. The church's design includes a long main hall called a nave with six sections, and parts that stick out on the north and south sides called transepts. There's also a chancel at the east end with aisles (walkways) on its north and south sides. At the west end, there's a tall tower with a spire on top.

The rooms under the east end of the church are used as an office, kitchen, and toilets today. The tower has two main parts. It has a door on the west side, with a four-leaf shape (called a quatrefoil) and a clock face above it. The openings for the bells are in pairs. On top of the tower is a broach spire, which is a pyramid-shaped spire that rises directly from the tower. It has small windows called lucarnes.

Along the sides of the nave, each section is separated by buttresses (supports that stick out from the wall) that go up to pointed tops called pinnacles. Each section has a wide, tall, narrow window called a lancet window. The transepts have two sections and, because the ground slopes, they have two floors. Each floor has five windows, and there's a round rose window in the triangle-shaped part (the gable) above. At the corners of the east end, there are parts that stick out with sloped roofs, which contain stairs and a doorway. At the very east end, the aisles have paired lancet windows, and a doorway on the lower level. The main east window of the chancel has three lancet windows of different heights, with a rose window above them. Below these, there are three more lancet windows that light up the lower area.

Inside the Church

Inside Christ Church, you'll find galleries (balconies) at the west end and in the transepts. Many of the church's special items, like the baptismal font (a basin for baptisms), the lectern (a stand for reading lessons), and the pulpit, were given as memorials to remember people.

The pulpit, for example, was given in memory of two soldiers who died in the First World War. Its carvings include a scene of two soldiers kneeling at the foot of the cross. Much of the beautiful stained glass in the church, including the east window and windows on the north side, was sadly destroyed during the Second World War. This happened when a landmine exploded nearby. The current stained glass in the east window was put in place in 1951. The stained glass in the windows on the south side of the church was given as memorials. One of these windows shows a scene from the famous story The Pilgrim's Progress.

The Organ

The church's original pipe organ was built by a famous organ maker named Henry Willis around 1860. It had two manuals (keyboards) and was first located in the west gallery. In 1881, it was moved to the south transept. However, the sound wasn't as good there, so Willis added more parts, including a third manual, in 1888.

Later, between 1888 and 1925, a special sound effect called a "vox humana" stop was added by another builder. In 1925, the organ was damaged by fire after a lightning strike. Willis's company repaired the damage and made more additions. Luckily, the organ was not damaged by the landmine during the war. It was cleaned and repaired again in 1948 by the Willis firm. Another big repair and cleaning happened in 1977, done by a company called Rushworth and Dreaper.

See also

• Listed buildings in Oxton, Merseyside