St Cuthbert's Church, Halsall facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Cuthbert's, Halsall |
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| OS grid reference | SD 37055 10292 |
| Location | Halsall, Lancashire |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| History | |
| Status | Parish church |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | Grade I |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Sandstone |
| Administration | |
| Deanery | Ormskirk |
| Archdeaconry | Warrington |
| Diocese | Liverpool |
| Province | York |
St Cuthbert's Church is an Anglican church located in Halsall, a small village in Lancashire, England. It is an active parish church, meaning it's a local church serving the community. It belongs to the Diocese of Liverpool. The oldest parts of this church were built way back in the 14th century, which is over 600 years ago! Over time, it has been changed and added to many times. St Cuthbert's is considered a very important building and is listed as a Grade I listed building in the National Heritage List for England.
Contents
History of St Cuthbert's
The area that St Cuthbert's Church served used to be much larger. It included Halsall and nearby places like Lydiate, Downholland, Melling, and Maghull. The very first part of the church to be built was the chancel, which is the area around the altar. This part dates back to the early 1300s.
In 1873, the chancel was repaired and updated. This work, called a Victorian restoration, cost £2,000. It was done by architects named Paley and Austin from Lancaster. Later, in 1886, the same architects largely rebuilt the main part of the church, called the nave, and its side sections, known as aisles. They also put on a new roof and added new seats. This bigger project cost £7,000.
On September 23, 1950, St Cuthbert's Church was officially named a Grade I listed building. This is the highest level of protection for buildings in England. It means the church is "of exceptional interest" and is sometimes even thought to be important worldwide.
St Cuthbert's is still a busy church today. It is part of the Diocese of Liverpool, which is part of the Province of York within the Church of England. It also belongs to the Warrington archdeaconry and the Ormskirk deanery.
Did you know that Arthur Vaughn Williams, the father of the famous composer Ralph Vaughn Williams, worked at St Cuthbert's? He served there before he became a vicar in 1868.
Church Architecture
Outside the Church
St Cuthbert's Church is built from strong, squared sandstone blocks and has roofs made of stone slates. The church's layout includes a main hall (the nave) with a tall tower at the west end. There are also side sections (north and south aisles), a porch on the south side, and the chancel at the east end. A small room, called a vestry, is located north of the chancel. In the south-west corner, between the tower and the south aisle, there's a room that was once a grammar school.
The church tower is about 126 feet (38 meters) tall and has three main parts, called stages. The bottom part is square and has strong corner supports called buttresses. It has a window with two sections and decorative stone patterns called tracery. The middle part of the tower is eight-sided and has special openings with wooden slats, called louvres, for the belfry bells. On top of this is a stone spire, which is a tall, pointed roof. The spire has small windows, called lucarnes. Between the bell section and the spire, there's an eight-sided wall, called a parapet, with four gargoyles. These are carved stone figures that often act as water spouts.
The roof of the nave has a flat parapet. The old grammar school building, which sticks out from the south side, has a crenellated parapet. This means it has a top edge with regular gaps, like a castle wall. Its roof is gabled, meaning it has a triangular shape at the ends. Above the doorway of the grammar school, you can see the Halsall family's coat of arms and a carving that says "E. H. 1593". The grammar school windows have two sections and pointed tops.
The windows in the side aisles have flat tops and feature Perpendicular style tracery, which is a type of decorative stone work. The large east window in the chancel has five sections with detailed tracery.
Inside the Church
Inside, a pointed arch separates the main nave from the tower. Between the nave and the side aisles, there are rows of arches, called arcades. These have four sections, or bays, supported by eight-sided stone columns, called piers. The arches are pointed and have wavy decorative edges, known as moulding. You can find a piscina (a small basin for washing sacred vessels) in the south wall of the south aisle, and another one in the north aisle.
The chancel area is about 47 feet (14 meters) long and 20 feet 6 inches (6.2 meters) wide. It has three special seats for priests, called sedilia, and another piscina. These features are in the Decorated style of architecture and date back to the 14th century. The three seats and the piscina all have arches with five-leaf shapes, called cinquefoils. There is also a beautiful screen behind the altar, called a reredos, which was added in 1886 and painted by Shrigley and Hunt. The church also has lovely Stained glass windows, some made by Harry Harvey and others by Hardman & Co..
External Features
In the churchyard, the area around the church, you can find some old grave slabs from the Middle Ages. These were originally inside the church. There is also a sundial made of sandstone, which dates back to 1725. Its base has two square steps, and it has a decorative pillar, called a baluster stem. The part that casts the shadow, called the gnomon, is probably newer. This sundial has been given a Grade II designation by English Heritage, meaning it's a building of special interest. You can also see an eight-sided sandstone baptismal font in the churchyard, which is from the 19th century. This font has also received a Grade II listing.
Many people are buried at St Cuthbert's. Some notable people include Henry Blundell-Hollinshead-Blundell (1831–1906), who was an officer in the British Army and a politician for the Conservative Party. The English football player Billy Ayre (1952–2002) is also buried here. The churchyard also contains the graves of six soldiers who died in the World Wars. Four soldiers from World War I and two from World War II are buried here, looked after by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
See also
- Grade I listed buildings in Lancashire
- Listed buildings in Halsall
- List of ecclesiastical works by Paley and Austin
