St Helen's Church, Overton facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St Helen's Church, Overton
St Helen's Church, Overton, from the southwest
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OS grid reference	SD 441,576
Location	Church Grove, Overton, Lancashire
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Churchmanship	Central
Website	St Helen, Overton
History
Status	Parish church
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade II*
Designated	2 May 1968
Architect(s)	William Coulthard (1830) Austin and Paley (restoration)
Architectural type	Church
Style	Norman, Gothic
Specifications
Materials	Sandstone, stone slate roofs
Administration
Parish	Overton
Deanery	Lancaster and Morecambe
Archdeaconry	Lancaster
Diocese	Blackburn
Province	York

St Helen's Church in Overton, Lancashire, England, is an old and active church. It's part of the Anglican faith and serves the local community. This church is very special because it's listed as a Grade II* building, meaning it's an important historical site.

History of St Helen's Church

The oldest parts of St Helen's Church were built way back in the 12th century! Imagine how many people have walked through its doors since then. In 1771, parts of the church were rebuilt. This made the chancel (the area near the altar) wider than the nave (the main part where people sit). Later, in 1830, a long north transept (a part of the church that sticks out like an arm) was added. William Coulthard was the architect for this change. In 1902, the church got a big makeover by architects Austin and Paley from Lancaster. They removed old plaster, put in new floors and seats, fixed the roof, and added stone mullions (vertical bars that divide a window). This work cost about £650 at the time. During this restoration, the architects found something exciting: the foundations of an even older, curved apse (a rounded end of a church) at the east end. This shows the church has a very long history!

Church Architecture and Design

St Helen's Church is built from sandstone rubble, which means it's made of rough, broken pieces of sandstone. It has a roof made of stone slates. The church's layout includes a nave, a wider chancel, and a north transept. The transept holds the organ and a vestry (a room for changing clothes or storing things). At the west end of the church, there's a bellcote (a small structure holding bells). Below it is a simple window with two sections. You can find similar windows on the north and south sides of the nave and on the south wall of the chancel. On the south side of the church, there's a Norman doorway. The carvings on it are very old and worn away. Above the doorway, there's a plaque that is also hard to read because it's so old. The east window has a rounded top with a keystone (the wedge-shaped stone at the top of an arch). The windows in the transept are tall and have mullions and rounded tops. Inside the church, there are galleries (balconies) at the west end and in the transept. On the east wall, you can see boards painted with the Ten Commandments and the Lord's Prayer. The pulpit (where the preacher stands) has a sounding board (a canopy above the pulpit that helps project the speaker's voice). Both date from the 18th century. The font, used for baptisms, is made of sandstone and has eight sides on a square base.

Outdoor Features of the Churchyard

In the churchyard, to the south of the church, there's an old sandstone cross base and part of its shaft. These pieces likely date back to the Middle Ages, showing how long this site has been important. The churchyard is also a resting place for soldiers. It contains the war graves of an airman from World War I, and an airman and a Wren (a member of the Women's Royal Naval Service) from World War II.

See also

• Grade II* listed buildings in Lancashire
• Listed buildings in Overton, Lancashire
• List of ecclesiastical works by Austin and Paley (1895–1914)