St Andrew's Church, Weston-under-Lizard facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Church of St Andrew, Weston-under-Lizard
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Location	Weston-under-Lizard, Staffordshire
Country	England
Denomination	Church of England
History
Dedication	Saint Andrew
Architecture
Heritage designation	Grade I
Designated	19 March 1962
Architect(s)	Elizabeth Wilbraham, George Edmund Street, Ewan Christian
Completed	Medieval, with 18th and 19th century restorations
Administration
Deanery	Penkridge
Diocese	Diocese of Lichfield

The Church of St Andrew in Weston-under-Lizard, Staffordshire, is a very old and important church. It's a Grade I listed building, which means it's considered super special and protected. Even though it started way back in the Middle Ages, much of what you see today was rebuilt in the early 1700s. A clever woman named Elizabeth Wilbraham from Weston Park helped design a lot of it. Later, in the 1800s, other architects like George Edmund Street and Ewan Christian also worked on it. It's still a busy church today, part of the Church of England.

History of the Church

This church has been around since medieval times. A famous expert on buildings, Pevsner, says that Lady Wilbraham was in charge of rebuilding it around 1700-1701. She was born Elizabeth Mytton and inherited the Weston estate. She married Sir Thomas Wilbraham in 1651.

In 2010, a historian named John Millar wrote an article saying that Elizabeth Wilbraham might have been the "first woman architect." He suggested she designed over 350 buildings! He even thought she might have taught or worked with Christopher Wren, another famous architect. Back then, it was hard for women to be recognized for their work in public. Millar believes that some buildings credited to male architects like Hugh May and Roger Pratt were actually designed by Elizabeth Wilbraham. These men might have just been the ones who oversaw the building work.

Not everyone agrees with Millar's ideas, and his book about her hasn't been published yet. However, many people do agree that Elizabeth Wilbraham designed several buildings for her family and friends. This includes her own home, Weston Park, and the Church of St Andrew on her estate.

Today, St Andrew's is still an active church. It is part of the Diocese of Lichfield.

What the Church Looks Like

When Elizabeth Wilbraham started rebuilding the church in 1700, only the east wall and a window from the 1300s were left of the old medieval church. She designed the tower and the main part of the church, called the nave.

The church tower has five sections, and the top part looks like a castle wall with battlements. The main part of the church, the nave, is described as "provincial Baroque" by Historic England. This means it has a grand, decorative style that was popular in England at the time.

Later, around 1869, George Edmund Street worked on restoring the church. He designed the font, which is a special basin used for baptisms. More work was done by Ewan Christian in 1876-1877. He added a special chapel for the family who owned Weston Park. This chapel and the church itself have memorials to the Earls of Bradford and their families. They owned Weston Park until 1986.

See also

• Listed buildings in Blymhill and Weston-under-Lizard