St Chad's Church, Poulton-le-Fylde facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Chad's, Poulton-le-Fylde |
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St Chad's Church from the south
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| OS grid reference | SD 3482 3945 |
| Location | Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| History | |
| Status | Parish church |
| Dedication | Chad of Mercia |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | Grade II* |
| Designated | 23 September 1950 |
| Architect(s) | Paley and Austin (1868) J. S. Crowther (1881–83) |
| Specifications | |
| Length | 113 feet 6 inches (34.59 m) (internal) |
| Materials | Red sandstone with grey ashlar |
| Administration | |
| Deanery | Poulton |
| Archdeaconry | Lancaster |
| Diocese | Blackburn |
| Province | York |
St Chad's Church is an Anglican church in Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire, England. It is a working church in the Church of England. The church is listed as a Grade II* building, which means it is very important.
There has been a church on this spot since at least the 11th century. It might even be older than the Norman conquest of England in 1066. The tower was built in the 1600s. Most of the rest of the church was rebuilt in the 1700s. However, some parts of the very old building are still there. The church has also been updated in the 1800s, 1900s, and 2000s.
After the Norman conquest, Poulton was given to Lancaster Priory. Later, in the 1400s, King Henry V gave the church to Syon Monastery. When monasteries were closed down, the church went back to the King. From the 1500s to the 1900s, the Hesketh/Fleetwood family had the right to choose the parish priest.
The church is made of red sandstone with grey stone on the outside. It has a main hall (nave), a special area for the altar (chancel), a square tower, and a round end (apse). Inside, you can see old stairs, a special stand for sermons (pulpit), and old family seating areas. There are eight bells in the tower. Outside, you can find parts of an old stone cross.
Contents
History of St Chad's Church
There was likely a church here even before the Norman conquest of England in 1066. We know for sure there was one by 1094. The Domesday Book from 1086 mentioned three churches in the area. These were probably the churches in Poulton, Kirkham, and St Michael's on Wyre. The church is named after Chad of Mercia, a saint from the 600s. This suggests it was built a very long time ago.
The first written record of Poulton's church is from 1094. After the Norman conquest, the area was given to a knight named Roger the Poitevin. In 1094, Roger started a monastery in Lancaster. He gave the Poulton church and its land to this monastery. Roger was later sent out of the country. His lands went back to the King.
In 1194, King Richard I gave the area to Theobald Walter, 1st Baron Butler. Theobald thought he should also get the right to choose the priest for Poulton. But in 1196, he gave up this right to the monks of Lancaster.
In 1275, the monks put a vicar in charge of the church. In 1291, St Chad's was valued as one of the richest churches in Lancashire. In 1345, repairs were ordered for the chancel.
Changes Over the Centuries
In 1415, King Henry V closed down monasteries controlled by foreign groups. Poulton church went back to the King. He then gave it to Syon Monastery in Middlesex. During the English Reformation in the 1500s, St Chad's became an Anglican church.
The church's parish used to be very large. It included Poulton, Carleton, Thornton, and other nearby villages. In 1539, King Henry VIII closed down Syon Monastery. St Chad's church again became the King's property. Later, Queen Elizabeth I gave the right to choose the priest to the Fleetwood family. This family kept this right until the early 1900s.
The current tower was built in the 1600s. In 1751, the church was greatly updated. People used to think the old church was completely torn down. But now we know the "new" building still has the outer walls of the older church. These original walls were made of red sandstone. The main part of the church (nave) was rebuilt in 1753.
By the 1800s, the churchyard was full of graves. It became a health problem. Rats and dogs were damaging the churchyard. It was hard to find space for new burials. Old bones were often moved to a special building. In 1884, no more burials were allowed in the churchyard. A new cemetery opened in the town.
A round, Norman-style end (apse) was added to the church in 1868. The architects were Paley and Austin. The vicar paid for this addition. More changes happened in 1881–83. A baptistery (for baptisms) was built. The organ was moved, and choir seats were added. Some work was done inside the tower in 1908. In 1955, a central path was added. Some old church items were removed. A small extension was built in 2005.
The right to choose the priest for Poulton was sold in 1934. It had been with the Fleetwood family for about 400 years. It was sold to the Diocese of Blackburn.
St Chad's Church Design
Outside the Church
The church walls are made of red sandstone. They have grey stone details. The roofs are made of slate. The church has a main hall (nave). There is a square tower at the west end. At the east end, there is a special area for the altar (chancel) and a round end (apse). There is also a small room for the clergy (vestry).
The tower was built in the early 1600s. It has a castellated top, like a castle. It is made of rough stone. The tower has strong supports (buttresses) and four corner decorations (pinnacles). There are openings for the bells on each side. Clock faces are on the north and south sides.
A small stone entrance on the south side leads to the Fleetwood family burial area. The doorway has an old inscription. There are two more doorways on the south side. They have been repaired and have fancy columns and tops. Above these doorways are oval windows. These were added in the 1800s. The church has large, round-headed windows with Y-shaped patterns. There are three on the north side and four on the south. More round windows are in the apse.
Inside the Church
The main hall (nave) is about 28.5 meters long and 11 meters wide. The chancel and apse are about 6 meters long and 5.3 meters wide. The tower area is about 3.6 meters by 3.6 meters. The church ceiling has shallow arched designs.
There are balconies on the north, west, and south sides. You can reach them by a Georgian staircase. This staircase has turned posts (balusters). The north and south balconies have old box pews from 1752. These are like private seating areas.
The Stained glass windows were made between the late 1800s and mid-1900s. Some were designed by Shrigley and Hunt. The pulpit (where sermons are given) was built in 1955. It is in the Jacobean style. It was made from parts of a 17th-century pulpit. It has fancy designs and a Bible verse.
In the south-west corner, there is a choir vestry. It was first built as a baptistery. Its screen is made of carved oak. It was created in 1883 from part of the Fleetwood family's box pew. This pew used to be where the choir seats are now. The wood has carvings of family symbols. These include a double-headed eagle and a griffin. The door for the screen comes from another family's box pew. It has a goat's head carving and the date "AR 1636".
Six special diamond-shaped paintings hang in St Chad's. They are called hatchments. They show the coats of arms of Hesketh-Fleetwood family members from the 1700s. These were painted for their funerals and then hung in the church.
There are eight bells in the tower. They are rung from the ground floor. Five bells were made in 1741. They were rehung in 1908. One bell was remade in 1865. In 1919, the church bells still rang to signal the town's curfew in winter. Two more bells were added in 1937.
St Chad's Churchyard
To the south of the church, you can see parts of a stone preaching cross. This cross used to mark a resting place for people carrying bodies to be buried at St Chad's. Only the two round steps remain. The cross itself has been replaced by an eight-sided pillar. This pillar was a sundial until the early 1900s. The steps are now a memorial in a small garden. The churchyard is famous for its beautiful crocuses and other flowers in spring.
The churchyard stopped allowing burials in 1884. However, since the 1950s, ashes from cremations have been buried in a small area. The paths in the churchyard use old gravestones laid flat. There are not many standing gravestones left. But there are several table tombs. To the south-east, there is a gravestone for Edward Sherdley (died 1741). It has carvings of a skull and crossbones and an hourglass. People locally call it the "pirate's grave".
The north side of the churchyard is next to Ball Street. Church Street is on the west side. Until the early 1900s, buildings lined both sides of these streets. When these buildings were taken down, you could see the churchyard better.
St Chad's Today
St Chad's was named a Grade II* listed building on September 23, 1950. This means it is a very important historic building. It is an active church in the Church of England. It is part of the diocese of Blackburn. The church serves Poulton, Carleton, and Singleton. The Rev. Martin Keighley became the vicar of St Chad's in 2000. The parish also includes the Church of St Hilda of Whitby in Carleton.
See also
- Grade II* listed buildings in Lancashire
- Listed buildings in Poulton-le-Fylde
- Market Place
- List of works by J. S. Crowther
- List of ecclesiastical works by Paley and Austin
