St Helen's Church, Tarporley facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St Helen's Church, Tarporley
St Helen's Church, Tarporley, from the southeast
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OS grid reference	SJ 554 625
Location	Tarporley, Cheshire
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Website	Tarporley, St Helen
History
Status	Parish church
Dedication	Saint Helen
Dedicated	3 January 1967
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade II*
Architect(s)	J. S. Crowther, Sir Percy Worthington
Architectural type	Church
Style	Perpendicular, Gothic Revival
Completed	1932
Specifications
Materials	Red sandstone ashlar, slate roof
Administration
Parish	Tarporley
Deanery	Malpas
Archdeaconry	Chester
Diocese	Chester
Province	York

St Helen's Church is a historic church located in the village of Tarporley, Cheshire, England. It's an active Anglican church, meaning it's part of the Church of England. This church is so important that it's officially recognized as a Grade II* listed building in the National Heritage List for England. This means it's a very special building that needs to be protected because of its history and architecture.

Church History: A Timeline

The first time a church on this spot was mentioned in official papers was in 1287. The oldest parts of the church you see today are two chapels, which were built in the 1400s. Over the years, the rest of the church has been changed and fixed up many times.

Key Changes Over the Years

• In 1785, the west end of the church was rebuilt.
• Two years later, in 1787, the north wall was rebuilt. The inside seating was also changed, and a gallery was added at the west end.
• More big changes happened in 1834.
• The Arderne Chapel (on the north side) was updated in 1861.
• The Utkinton Chapel (on the south side) was updated in 1865.
• The tower was worked on in 1878, and the main part of the church (the nave) in 1879. These three updates were done by an architect named J. S. Crowther.
• A special area for baptisms, called a baptistry, was added to the west end in 1931–32 by Sir Percy Worthington.
• In 1935, the Arderne Chapel got a new stone altar and was renamed All Souls' Chapel.

Church Design: What It Looks Like

St Helen's Church is built from red sandstone blocks and has a slate roof.

Outside the Church

The church has a baptistry at the west end, a main hall (nave), and a chancel (the area around the altar). It also has aisles on the north and south sides, with a chapel at the end of each. There's a tower at the southwest corner and a porch on the south side. The tower has a small, pointed roof called a pyramidal spire. The chapels are built in a style called Perpendicular, while the rest of the church is in a style called Decorated.

Inside the Church

The main hall (nave) has four sections with arches that date back to the 1400s. The pillars on the north side are eight-sided, and those on the south side are six-sided.

Special Features and Art

• The screen in front of the chancel has beautiful Italian gates. These gates were made in the 1500s and brought from Siena, Italy, in 1889.
• You can also find two special chairs, an old chest for church clothes (vestments), and a 15th-century (1400s) eight-sided font. This font was once used as a farmyard trough!
• The church also keeps a collection of helmets and armor from the time of Oliver Cromwell.
• The stained glass in the west window of the south aisle, made in 1899, is by a famous artist named Charles Eamer Kempe.

Memorials and Tombs

The church has important memorials for the Done and Crewe families.

• In the Utkinton Chapel, there's a large round carving for Sir John Done, who died in 1617. There's a similar one for John Crewe, who died in 1670.
• In the north chapel, you'll find a memorial to Sir John Crewe, who died in 1711. It shows him lying down in a robe, with small crying angels (cherubs) at his head and feet.
• The most impressive memorial is a tomb in the chancel. It honors Jane Done (died 1662), Mary Crewe (died 1690), and her granddaughter Mary Knightley (died 1674). The three figures are made of white marble on a black base. The adults are shown lying down, and the child is standing, holding flowers.
• There's also a special painted board believed to have been made by a member of the Randle Holme family from Chester.

Music and Records

• The church organ was built by Henry Willis & Sons and fixed up in 1998.
• The church has records of births, marriages, and deaths (parish registers) going all the way back to 1558!
• The accounts from the church wardens (people who manage the church's money) are almost complete from 1662.
• The church has a set of eight bells, made in 1931 by John Taylor and Company.

Outside the Church: Churchyard Features

The churchyard has several interesting historical features.

• There's a red sandstone cross base and part of a shaft from the 1400s or 1500s. It's also a Grade II listed structure.
• You'll find a war memorial made of Portland stone, designed by Sir Percy Scott Worthington. It's a cross with a carved figure of Christ inside and is also a Grade II listed structure.
• The churchyard also contains the graves of three service members from World War II: a soldier from the Royal Engineers and two airmen from the Royal Air Force.
• The lych gate (a covered gateway into the churchyard) is also a Grade II listed structure.

See also

• Grade II* listed buildings in Cheshire West and Chester
• Listed buildings in Tarporley
• List of works by J. S. Crowther