Christ Church, Heaton Norris facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Christ Church, Heaton Norris |
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Tower of Christ Church, Heaton Norris
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| OS grid reference | SJ 889 908 |
| Location | Wellington Road, Heaton Norris, Stockport, Greater Manchester, historically Lancashire |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Website | Churches Conservation Trust |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Redundant |
| Heritage designation | Grade II |
| Designated | 10 March 1975 |
| Architect(s) | William Hayley |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Gothic Revival (Early English style) |
| Groundbreaking | 1844 |
| Completed | 1846 |
| Construction cost | c. £7,000 (equivalent to £485,000 in 2021) |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Sandstone, Welsh slate roofs |
Christ Church is what's left of an old Anglican church in Heaton Norris, Stockport, England. It's located on a main road connecting Stockport with Manchester. Today, only its tall tower and parts of its side walls remain. This historic site is protected as a Grade II listed building and is looked after by the Churches Conservation Trust.
Contents
A Look Back: Christ Church's Story
Building the Church
Christ Church was built between 1844 and 1846. The land for it was given by Wilbraham Egerton, 1st Earl Egerton. It cost about £7,000 (equivalent to £485,000 in 2021). The Church Building Commission helped pay for it, giving £500.
The church was designed by William Hayley, an architect from Manchester. When it was first built, it had a main hall (called a nave), side sections (called aisles), cross-shaped parts (called transepts), a special area for the altar (called a chancel), and a tall tower with a spire at the west end.
Challenges and Changes
By the 1970s, the church building was in very bad shape. It had problems like dry rot, which is a type of fungus that damages wood. People tried to turn it into a community center, but it didn't work out.
In 1977, a big fire badly damaged the church. After the fire, most of the church was taken down. Only the tower and spire, along with parts of the walls next to them, were left standing. The foundations of the other walls were kept to show what the church looked like originally.
Most of the things inside the church, like furniture, were either destroyed in the fire or stolen. However, some special memorial plaques were moved before the fire. They are now in All Saints' Church, Heaton Norris. The Christ Church Mother's Union banner, a special flag, was also saved and restored in 2014. The five clock bells, made in 1896, were stolen in 1977.
The church was officially declared "redundant" (meaning it was no longer needed for church services) on July 20, 1973. The remaining parts of the church were given to the Churches Conservation Trust on May 23, 1979, so they could be preserved.
Church Design: What Remains
Christ Church is built from yellow sandstone with a roof made of Welsh slate. Its style is called Early English, which is a type of Gothic Revival design.
The Tower
The tower has four main sections, or "stages," and a very tall, thin spire on top.
- At the bottom of the west side, there's a main entrance, or portal.
- Above this, in the next section, there's a west window with decorative stone patterns called plate tracery.
- On the north and south sides of this section, you can see pairs of narrow, pointed windows called lancet windows.
- The third section has round openings where the clock faces used to be.
- In the very top section, there are paired openings where the bells once hung.
- At the very top of the tower, there's a decorative wall called a parapet with openings. There are tall, pointed decorations called pinnacles at each corner and smaller ones in between.
Experts have said that this tower is William Hayley's "most ambitious surviving work," meaning it's one of his most impressive buildings that still stands.
Outside the Church
The churchyard around Christ Church is also important. It contains the war graves of five soldiers who died in World War I.
See also
- Listed buildings in Stockport
- List of churches preserved by the Churches Conservation Trust in Northern England
