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

The Church of St Stephen on-the-Cliffs is a special church located on Holmfield Road in Blackpool, Lancashire, England. It's an active Anglican parish church, which means it's a church for the local community that follows the Anglican faith. It belongs to the larger group of churches in the diocese of Blackburn.

History of St Stephen's Church

St Stephen's Church started as a smaller "mission church" in 1912. A mission church is like a smaller, temporary church that helps a larger main church. This first church was connected to All Hallows Church, Bispham. People soon started calling it "The Church on the Cliffs."

Becoming a Parish

By 1919, St Stephen's became its own parish. This meant it was a fully independent church with its own community. The original mission church became too small for all the people who wanted to attend. So, the community worked hard to raise money for a new, bigger church.

Building the New Church

The first 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 ceremony. He later became the Archbishop of Canterbury, a very high position in the Church of England.

The church was designed by Henry Paley, an architect from the famous firm Austin and Paley. In 1927, the church was officially "consecrated" by Percy Herbert, the first Bishop of Blackburn. Consecrated means it was formally dedicated to God. At this time, only part of the church was finished.

Cost and Capacity

The church cost about £20,000 in 1927. This was a lot of money back then! It was built to hold about 400 people.

Special Connections

St Stephen's Church became well-known for its strong connection with actors and entertainers. Many performers who worked in the local theatres would visit. In 1929, a special area called the Actors' Chapel was created inside the church just for them.

Later Additions

Over the years, more parts were added to the church. In 1949, a "columbarium" was built. This is a special chapel where urns containing ashes of people who have been cremated are kept. It was designed by Edwin Carpenter.

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

Architecture and Design

The Church of St Stephen on-the-Cliffs is built with bright red bricks and has special stone decorations. The windows have beautiful stone patterns called "tracery," which are typical of the "Decorated" style of Gothic architecture.

Church Layout

The church's design includes chapels on the north and south sides. The columbarium is on the north side, and the baptistry is in the northeast. The narthex is at the west end, near the main entrance.

Inside the Church

The inside walls of the church are covered with red sandstone. The furniture in the choir area, which dates back to 1927, has amazing carvings. These carvings show angels playing music and figures of saints. The "pulpit," where the priest gives sermons, is also made of red sandstone. It has carvings of saints under small decorative canopies.

The Actors' Chapel

The Actors' Chapel is part of the north aisle (a side section of the church). Its "reredos" (a decorated screen behind the altar) has paintings of singers, dancers, and other entertainers. It also features Saint Genesius, who is the patron saint of actors.

On the walls of this chapel, there are special stone tablets made of "alabaster." These tablets have the names of famous entertainers carved into them. Some of the names you might recognize include Noël Coward, Sybil Thorndike, Arthur Askey, George Formby, Ivor Novello, and Edith Evans.

Stained Glass and Art

The church has beautiful stained glass windows. One window, made in 1935 by Baron Arild Rosencrantz, shows characters like Parsifal (representing opera) and Everyman (representing drama). This window was made to remember John Huddlestone, a show organizer, and John Tiller, who created the famous Tiller Girls dance troupe.

Other stained glass windows were made by Shrigley and Hunt in the 1930s and by Harry Stammers in the 1960s. There is also a statue of the Madonna that was given to the church by the entertainer Tessie O'Shea.

The Pipe Organ

The church has a large pipe organ with three "manuals" (keyboards). It was built by Henry Willis between 1881 and 1895. This organ used to be in another church, St Philip's Church in Blackburn. When St Philip's was taken down around 1975, the organ was carefully moved to St Stephen's.

See also

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