Church of St Mary and All Saints, Whalley facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Mary and All Saints, Whalley |
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From the south west
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| OS grid reference | SD 7325436180 |
| Location | Whalley, Lancashire |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Website | www.whalleypc.org.uk |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | Grade I |
| Designated | 13 February 1967 |
| Administration | |
| Deanery | Whalley |
| Archdeaconry | Blackburn |
| Diocese | Blackburn |
| Province | York |
The Church of St Mary and All Saints is an Anglican church located in the village of Whalley, Lancashire, England. It is a working parish church within the Diocese of Blackburn. A church likely stood on this spot during Anglo-Saxon times. The building you see today dates back to the 13th century. It is officially recognized as a Grade I listed building, meaning it is very important historically.
Contents
History of St Mary and All Saints Church
Early Beginnings and Domesday Book Mention
A church probably existed here even before the Norman Conquest. You can still see three well-preserved Anglo-Saxon crosses in the churchyard. There are also pieces from that time in the outer walls of the current building. These crosses are protected as Scheduled Monuments.
The church was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. This was a huge survey ordered by William the Conqueror. The mention shows that the "Church of St Mary held in Wallei" was quite wealthy.
Building the Church Through the Centuries
Most of the church we see today was built in the 1200s. It replaced an older, simpler church. That earlier church probably had a nave (the main part) and a chancel (the area around the altar) without side aisles.
The tall tower was added much later, in the late 1400s. Later, in 1844, a porch was built on the south side. Another porch was added to the north side in 1909. The church also had some repairs and updates in 1866 and 1868.
Church Architecture and Design
Outside the Church
The church is built from sandstone rubble, which means rough, uneven stones. It has a slate roof. The main part of the church, the nave, has a clerestory, which is a row of windows above the main roof. It also has north and south aisles, which are the side sections. There's a chancel, a vestry (a room for clergy), porches, and a tower.
The large window at the east end is in the Perpendicular style. This style is known for its tall, thin panels of tracery. This window has five lights, which are the sections of glass. Each light has a "cinquefoil" shape at the top, like a five-leaf clover. The clerestory windows also have two cinquefoil lights each.
The Tower
The tower is about 70 feet (21 meters) high. It has buttresses, which are supports built against the walls. The top has a crenellated parapet, which looks like the top of a castle wall. The belfry (where the bells are) has louvres, which are angled slats. These louvres have two trefoiled lights, meaning they have a three-leaf clover shape. There is also a clock on the east side of the tower.
Inside the Church
The south porch was added in 1844. However, the doorway leading into the church has parts of pillars from the original Norman church, built in the 11th century. The font, used for baptisms, is made of yellow gritstone and dates from the 1400s. Its oak cover is from the 1600s.
The nave is about 72 feet (22 meters) long and 24 feet (7 meters) wide. It has four bays, which are sections of the church. The design is in the Early English style. The columns (called piers) on the north side are round, while those on the south side are octagonal (eight-sided). All the columns have decorative tops and bases. The arches connecting the columns are pointed and have a special cut edge called "double-chamfered."
Church Furniture and Seating
The church is famous for its old furniture, especially its seating. It's almost like a museum of church benches! In the north aisle, you can find a churchwarden's pew from 1690. This pew could seat eight people. There's also a constables' pew, benches from 1638, and a rectory pew from 1702. Then there's a special pew called St. Anton's Cage.
Chantry Chapels
At the east end of the north aisle is a chantry chapel. This was a special area where priests would pray for the souls of specific people. This one is dedicated to St Nicholas and is also known as the Soldiers' Chapel. It has signs of a staircase that once led to a rood loft (a gallery above the entrance to the chancel). It also has parts of a piscina (a basin for washing sacred vessels) and a medieval altar stone. A screen from the 1400s surrounds this chapel.
Another chantry chapel, dedicated to St Mary, is at the east end of the south aisle. It also has a 15th-century screen and a piscina from the 1300s. This chapel contains square, wooden pews. The north door of the north aisle is made of oak with glass "bullseyes" and is enclosed by a wooden porch.
The Choir Stalls and Misericords
The chancel is about 51 feet (15.7 meters) long and 24 feet (7.5 meters) wide. The stalls (seats for the choir) were carved around 1430. They originally came from Whalley Abbey. It's rare to know the name of a medieval craftsman, but we know these were carved by a Mr. Eatough!
These stalls have amazing carvings underneath the seats called misericords. When the seats are flipped up, you can see these detailed carvings. They show many different things:
- Religious scenes: Angels, devils, the Holy Trinity, two eagles carrying Alexander to Heaven, and St George and the dragon.
- Mystical creatures: A girl with a weeping satyr and griffins.
- Everyday life: A blacksmith shoeing a horse, a goose, plants like vines and pomegranates, and even a wife playfully beating her husband with a pan! These carvings are considered very special and well-made.
St. Anton's Cage
St. Anton's Cage is a large pew next to the Lady Chapel. It was originally for the Nowell family from Read. It was built in 1534 and made bigger twice in the 1600s. Above the doors, you can see the initials of the Fort and Taylor families. These families argued over who owned the pew in the early 1800s. A date, 1830, shows when a court ordered the pew to be divided to solve the problem. However, neither family was happy, so they stopped using it. They built their own private galleries elsewhere in the nave, but these are now gone. Inside an oak box in the pew, there is a 1684 copy of Foxe's Book of Martyrs and an early edition of Whittaker's History of Whalley.
The Organ
The church's organ is very old, dating back to 1727. It was first built for Lancaster Priory. The church bought it in 1813 for three hundred guineas. That's a lot of money, equal to about £31,500 today!
Churchyard Features
The churchyard is home to three stone Anglo-Saxon crosses. These crosses likely date from the 900s or 1000s. There is also a sundial east of the church, which was made in 1757 and is also a Grade II listed item.
Church Leadership
In September 2015, Revd Jonathan Carmyllie became the Vicar for the West Pendleside parishes. He was officially welcomed at St Nicholas' church in Sabden on September 30, 2015.
See also
- Grade I listed churches in Lancashire
- Grade I listed buildings in Lancashire
- Scheduled monuments in Lancashire
- Listed buildings in Whalley, Lancashire
Images for kids
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One of three Anglo-Saxon crosses in the churchyard
