Christ Church, Higher Bebington facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Christ Church, Higher Bebington
Christ Church, Higher Bebington
Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
OS grid reference	SJ 319 851
Location	King's Road, Higher Bebington, Wirral, Merseyside
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Website	Christ Church, Higher Bebington
History
Consecrated	24 December 1859
Architecture
Groundbreaking	1 August 1857
Completed	1859
Specifications
Materials	Sandstone, slate roofs
Administration
Parish	Christ Church, Higher Bebington
Deanery	Wirral, North
Archdeaconry	Chester
Diocese	Chester
Province	York

Christ Church is a beautiful old church located in King's Road, Higher Bebington, Wirral, in England. It's an active Anglican church, meaning it's part of the Church of England. It's also a special building, listed as a Grade II building on the National Heritage List for England. This means it's an important historical and architectural place that needs to be protected.

History of Christ Church

Christ Church was built between 1857 and 1859. It was designed by an architect named Walter Scott. The very first stone, called the foundation stone, was put in place on 1 August 1857. The church was officially opened and blessed (this is called consecrated) by Bishop John Graham on 24 December 1859. Later, a tall steeple was added to the church in 1884–85. Sadly, the very top part of the spire was damaged in 1980.

Architecture of the Church

Outside the Church

The church is built from sandstone that came from Storeton quarry. Its roofs are made of slate. The building looks like churches from the 13th century. It has a long main part called a nave, with a row of windows high up called a clerestory. On the sides, there are aisles with sloping roofs. There's also a special area at the front called the chancel, where the altar is. The church has a room for the clergy called a vestry, and a space for the organ. A tall steeple stands at the northwest corner.

The windows along the sides of the aisles are paired lancets, which are tall, narrow windows with pointed tops. The high windows in the clerestory have three lights with clover-shaped tops. The large window at the west end of the nave has four lights with fancy stone patterns called tracery. Below this window is a main entrance with a pointed roof, known as a gable. The chancel has a large four-light window at the east end.

The tower has strong supports called buttresses at its corners. It has an entrance on the west side and a two-light window on the north. The openings for the bells have slanted slats (louvres) and clover-shaped tops. The tower is topped with a tall, pointed roof called a broach spire, which is covered with wooden tiles (shingles). You can even see a fossilized footprint of an ancient animal called a Chirotherium in a stone on the porch wall!

Inside the Church

Inside Christ Church, you'll see rows of arches called arcades. These arches are held up by strong pillars, or piers. Some piers are round, and some are octagonal (eight-sided). These pillars are made from single, large pieces of stone, which are called monoliths. The roofs inside the church are built with a special design called scissor-braced, which looks like crossed scissors. The chancel roof is supported by carved stones called corbels, which are shaped like angels.

The screen that separates the chancel from the rest of the church was added in 1912. It's beautifully carved with patterns, little angels (cherubs), and vines. The pulpit, where sermons are given, is made of stone. It's also carved with patterns, arched panels, and small buttresses. The walls of the chancel and the reredos (a decorated screen behind the altar) have carved arches that don't open, called blind arcades.

The baptismal font, used for baptisms, is supported by shafts and has angel carvings. Its panels are carved with different symbols. The colorful stained glass in the west window was made in 1862 by R. & B. Edmundson. There used to be a similar window at the east end, but it was destroyed during the Second World War. It was replaced in 1951 with a new window showing the Nativity (the birth of Jesus). Other stained glass windows were added over the years by different artists, including C. E. Kempe in 1905 and A. V. Holloway in 1961. The windows in the north aisle were made by Morris & Co. between 1927 and 1937. The church also has a large pipe organ with three manuals (keyboards), which was built in 1936 by Rushworth and Dreaper.

See also

• Listed buildings in Bebington