Holy Trinity Church, Bolton-le-Sands facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Holy Trinity Church, Bolton-le-Sands |
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Holy Trinity Church, Bolton-le-Sands, from the southeast
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| OS grid reference | SD 483,677 |
| Location | Bolton-le-Sands, Lancashire |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Website | https://bolton-le-sands.org.uk/ |
| History | |
| Former name(s) | St Michael's Church, Bolton-le-Sands |
| Status | Parish church |
| Dedication | Holy Trinity, formerly Saint Michael |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | Grade II* |
| Designated | 2 May 1968 |
| Architect(s) | Sharpe and Paley (chancel, pulpit and reading desk) E. G. Paley (restoration) Paley and Austin (1881 alterations) |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Gothic, Gothic Revival |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Stone, slate roofs |
| Administration | |
| Parish | Bolton-le-Sands |
| Deanery | Tunstall |
| Archdeaconry | Lancaster |
| Diocese | Blackburn |
| Province | York |
Holy Trinity Church, once known as St Michael's Church, is a special old building in the village of Bolton-le-Sands, Lancashire, England. It's an active Anglican church, meaning it's part of the Church of England and still used for services today. This church is so important that it's officially recognized as a Grade II* listed building. This means it has a lot of historical and architectural value.
Contents
A Look Back in Time
People have worshipped on this spot for a very long time, even before the year 1094. The oldest parts of the church you see today are the tower and the north arcade, which were built in the late 1400s.
The main part of the church, called the nave, was built in 1813. Later, in 1847, architects Sharpe and Paley rebuilt the chancel, which is the area around the altar. They also added a pulpit (where sermons are given) and a reading desk in 1851.
The church got a big makeover between 1863 and 1864 by E. G. Paley. Then, in 1881, the architectural firm, now called Paley and Austin, made even more changes. They made the north aisle wider and added a vestry (a room for clergy). They also put in a porch, a new pulpit, and a font for baptisms.
During these changes, the floor was lowered, and a gallery was removed. They also replaced windows and added new seating for 450 people. The chancel was retiled and refitted, making the church ready for many more years of use.
What the Church Looks Like
Outside the Church
The church is built from rubble (rough stones) and has slate roofs. The tower is made of smooth ashlar sandstone. The south wall of the nave is covered with pebbledash.
The church has a main section (the nave), a north aisle, a porch on the south side, a chancel, and a tall tower at the west end. The tower has three levels. At the bottom, there's a door and a window with three sections. This window has niches (small hollows) on either side with pointed pinnacles. The openings for the bells also have three sections.
Strong diagonal buttresses (supports) hold up the tower. At the very top, there's a battlemented parapet, which looks like the top of a castle wall. A staircase sticks out from the southwest side of the tower. The windows in the south wall of the nave have a style called Perpendicular tracery (stone patterns). The chancel is built in an older style called Early English.
Inside the Church
Inside, there's a row of five bays (sections) that separate the nave and chancel from the north aisle. These sections are supported by eight-sided piers (columns). One pier, the second from the east, is rectangular.
The nave has a special type of wooden roof called a hammerbeam roof. The chancel roof has a "scissor-braced" design. Between the chancel and the aisle, there's a sandstone memorial from 1642. It says, "It is supposed that he lived above 100 yeares."
You can also find monuments from the 1800s in a Classical style. There are also brasses (engraved metal plates) from 1692 and 1872. The reredos (a screen behind the altar) is made of alabaster and was added in 1897.
The beautiful stained glass in the west window was made in 1891. It shows archangels and was designed by Carl Almquist. The glass in the chancel windows was designed by William Wailes. The church also has two carved Anglo-Saxon stones from the 900s.
Outside the Church Walls
In the churchyard, south of the church, there's an old square sandstone cross base with two steps. We don't know exactly how old it is. On top of it is a newer square block and a cross from the 1900s.
The churchyard is also home to the war graves of two British soldiers and one Canadian soldier who died in World War I.
See also
- Grade II* listed buildings in Lancashire
- Listed buildings in Bolton-le-Sands
- List of works by Sharpe and Paley
- List of ecclesiastical works by E. G. Paley
- List of ecclesiastical works by Paley and Austin
