St Stephen's Church, Sneinton facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St. Stephen's Church, Sneinton |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Churchmanship | Anglo Catholic |
| History | |
| Dedication | St. Stephen |
| Administration | |
| Parish | Sneinton |
| Diocese | Southwell and Nottingham |
| Province | York |
St. Stephen's Church, Sneinton is a special church that belongs to the Church of England. It's located in the area of Sneinton.
This church is listed as a Grade II listed building. This means it's a very important building because of its history and amazing design. Did you know that the parents of the famous writer D.H. Lawrence got married here on December 27, 1875?
Contents
A Look Back in Time: The Church's History
The story of St. Stephen's Church goes way back to the Middle Ages. For a long time, priests from Lenton Priory helped serve the church. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries (when many monasteries were closed), the church was mostly served by clergy from St. Mary's Church, Nottingham.
St. Stephen's became its own official parish in 1866. This meant it had its own dedicated priest and community.
The building you see today was built in 1837. It was designed by a famous architect named Thomas Rickman. The construction was done by W. Surplice of Nottingham. This church was one of the first buildings in Nottinghamshire to be built in the Gothic Revival style. This style brought back ideas from medieval Gothic architecture.
St. Stephen's was also a "Commissioners' church." This means it received money from the Church Building Commission to help pay for its construction. The church cost about £4,511 to build back then. The Commission gave £1,303 towards this cost.
In 1853, people noticed that the church had an early "Catholic liturgy." This refers to the style of its worship services. It was the first church in Nottingham to have its choir members wear special white robes called surplices. They also used to chant or "intone" the prayers. This was quite new for the area at the time!
The church building was made bigger between 1909 and 1912. These additions were designed by Cecil Greenwood Hare based on plans by George Frederick Bodley.
After another church, St. Matthias' Church, Nottingham, closed in 2003, its parish joined with St. Stephen's. Now, the parish is known as St. Stephen and St. Matthias.
The Church Clock
A brand new clock was put into the church tower in 1865. This clock had four faces, so you could see the time from different directions. It was installed by Reuben Bosworth.
The clock started ticking on Tuesday, December 26, 1865. It was a gift from William Tomlin Esq. and cost over £120. In 1967, the Nottingham Corporation (the local council) decided it was a public clock. This meant they took over looking after it and making sure it kept good time for everyone.
Special Features Inside the Church
The church has some really cool features. The reredos behind the main altar was designed by George Frederick Bodley. A reredos is a decorated screen or wall that stands behind an altar. This one was carved in Oberammergau, a town famous for its woodcarving. It shows different scenes from the life of Jesus.
The choir stalls, where the choir sits, are very old! They date back to the 1300s or 1400s. They originally came from St. Mary's Church, Nottingham. The organist of St. Stephen's got them in 1848. These stalls have amazing medieval misericords. Misericords are small, carved ledges on the underside of folding seats. They often have funny or interesting figures carved into them.
Pathe News Story
In 1959, St. Stephen's Church was featured in a British Pathe newsreel! This was like an old-fashioned news report shown in cinemas. The newsreel showed Reverend John Tyson, the local vicar, trying to get young people to come back to church.
The young people helped clean the church and attended evening services. In return, they were allowed to build a cafe and even a rock 'n' roll club in the vicarage (the vicar's house)! It sounds like they had a lot of fun while helping out.
The Church Organ
The church had a small pipe organ in 1840. This organ was later sold in 1871 to St Giles Church, West Bridgford. St. Stephen's then bought a new, bigger organ for £450. This new organ was made by Brindley & Foster in 1872.
The organ was officially dedicated at the Harvest Festival on September 19, 1872. It was played by Herbert Stephen Irons, who was the organist of Southwell Minster.
This organ was made even bigger in 1888. More work was done on it in 1901 by Cousans and Sons. They also moved it from the chancel (the area near the altar) and rebuilt it. Later, Ernest Wragg and Sons did more work to keep it in good shape.
See also
- Listed buildings in Nottingham (Dale ward)
