Church of St Stephen on-the-Cliffs, Blackpool facts for kids

The Church of St Stephen on-the-Cliffs is a beautiful church located on Holmfield Road in Blackpool, Lancashire, England. It's an active Anglican parish church, which means it's a local church for the community. It's part of the diocese of Blackburn.

A Look Back in Time: St Stephen's History

St Stephen's Church started small, as a "mission church" connected to All Hallows Church, Bispham. It first opened its doors in 1912 and quickly became known as "The Church on the Cliffs."

In 1919, St Stephen's became its own parish, serving its own community. The original mission church soon became too small for all the people who wanted to attend. So, people worked hard to raise money for a new, bigger church.

The foundation stone for the new church was laid on July 1, 1925. A very important person, William Temple, who was then the Bishop of Manchester, helped with this special event. The church was designed by Henry Paley, a famous architect from the firm Austin and Paley.

The new church was officially opened in 1927. At that time, only part of it was finished. The church cost about £20,000, which was a lot of money back then! It could seat 400 people.

The Actors' Chapel and More Additions

St Stephen's became very popular with actors and entertainers who performed in Blackpool's local theatres. In 1929, a special place called the Actors' Chapel was created inside the church just for them.

Later, in 1949, a columbarium was added. This is a special chapel where urns containing ashes of people who have been cremated can be stored. It was designed by Edwin Carpenter.

More parts were added to the church between 2001 and 2002 by Stephen Eccles. These included a porch, a narthex (an entrance hall), and a baptistry (a place for baptisms). The original mission church is still used today as the parish hall.

What the Church Looks Like Inside and Out

St Stephen's Church is built with bright red bricks and has special stone decorations. The windows have detailed stone patterns called tracery, which are in a style known as "Decorated Gothic."

Inside, the church is lined with red sandstone. It has different areas, including chapels on the north and south sides, the columbarium to the north, and the baptistry and narthex near the entrance.

Special Features and Art

The furniture in the choir area, made in 1927, has beautiful carvings of angels and saints. The pulpit, where sermons are given, is made of red sandstone and also has carvings of saints.

The Actors' Chapel is a very unique part of the church. It has a special screen, called a reredos, painted with figures of singers, dancers, and entertainers. It also shows Saint Genesius, who is the patron saint of actors. On the walls of this chapel, you can find stone tablets with the names of famous entertainers like Noël Coward, Sybil Thorndike, Arthur Askey, and George Formby.

The church also has amazing stained glass windows. One window from 1935, made by Baron Arild Rosencrantz, shows characters like Parsifal (representing opera) and Everyman (representing drama). Other stained glass windows were made by Shrigley and Hunt in the 1930s and by Harry Stammers in the 1960s.

You can also see a statue of Madonna that was given to the church by the entertainer Tessie O'Shea. The church has a large pipe organ with three keyboards, built between 1881 and 1895. This organ used to be in another church in Blackburn and was moved to St Stephen's around 1975.

See also

• List of ecclesiastical works by Austin and Paley (1916–44)