St James' Church, Gawsworth Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids St James' Church, Gawsworth
St James' Church, Gawsworth
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OS grid reference	SJ 890 697
Location	Gawsworth, Cheshire
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Website	https://www.gawsworthchurch.co.uk
History
Status	Parish church
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade I
Designated	14 April 1967
Architectural type	Church
Style	Perpendicular
Specifications
Materials	Limestone nave Sandstone tower and chancel Lead roof
Administration
Parish	Gawsworth
Deanery	Macclesfield
Archdeaconry	Macclesfield
Diocese	Chester
Province	York

St James' Church is a beautiful old church located in the village of Gawsworth, Cheshire, England. It stands close to Gawsworth Hall. This church is very important because it's listed as a Grade I building on the National Heritage List for England. This means it's a really special historic place!

St James' Church is an active Anglican parish church. This means it's a church for the local community that follows the Church of England's traditions. It belongs to the diocese of Chester. Experts like Alec Clifton-Taylor have even called it one of the 'best' English parish churches. People who wrote the Buildings of England books described it as "pretty, but odd."

History of St James' Church
Architecture: What Does St James' Church Look Like?
- Outside the Church
- Inside the Church
  - Fitton Family Tombs
  - Church Organ and Bells
What Else Can You See Outside?
Images for kids
See also

History of St James' Church

There was a small chapel on this spot way back in the 1200s. However, the church building you see today was mostly built in the 1400s. It has stood for hundreds of years!

Architecture: What Does St James' Church Look Like?

The church is built from yellow and red sandstone blocks. The roof is also made of stone. The oldest part of the church is the main hall, called the nave, which was built around 1430. The tower and the chancel (the area around the altar) were added about 40 years later. The entire church is built in a style called Perpendicular Gothic, which was popular in England during the late Middle Ages.

Outside the Church

The church has a tower at its west end. It has a wide main hall (nave) without side passages, and an entrance porch on the south side. The chancel is separated from the nave by a screen inside.

The tower has strong supports called buttresses. These supports have small alcoves, or niches, where statues used to stand. You can also see gargoyles on the tower. There are eight tall, pointed decorations called pinnacles. Look closely, and you might spot the coats of arms of old Cheshire families and Tudor badges. The porch also has niches above its doorway. Both the nave and chancel have battlements (like on a castle wall) and pinnacles.

Inside the Church

The ceiling of the nave, the main hall, is made of wooden beams and dates back to the 1400s. The chancel ceiling, which is the part over the altar, is also made of wooden beams and is panelled. It was built a little later. The screen that separates the chancel from the nave was added in 1894.

The church has an octagonal (eight-sided) font from the 1500s. It sits on a base from the 1800s and has a wooden cover. At the east end of the chancel, there's a small bell called a sanctus bell.

Most of the old stained glass windows were taken out in the 1800s. However, you can still see some small pieces in the chancel windows. The beautiful stained glass in the east window was made by an artist named William Wailes.

Fitton Family Tombs

Inside the chancel, there are four tombs belonging to the Fitton (or Fytton) family. These are very old and interesting monuments:

The oldest tomb belongs to Francis Fitton, from 1608. On top, you can see a statue of him lying down with a beard. Below him, there's a skeleton!
Across from Francis's tomb is the monument for Dame Alice Fitton, who passed away around 1626. Her statue is seated, and in front of her are statues of her two sons kneeling. Behind her are figures of her two daughters, also kneeling.
Next to them is the tomb of Sir Edward Fitton, the first baronet, and his wife Anne. They died in 1619 and 1644. In front of their tomb, you can see kneeling figures of their three sons and seven daughters. One of their daughters was Mary Fitton. She was a maid of honour to Queen Elizabeth I. Some people think she might be the "Dark Lady" mentioned in Shakespeare's sonnets.
The fourth tomb is for Sir Edward Fitton, the second baronet, who died in 1643, and his first wife Jane.

Church Organ and Bells

The church has a large organ with two keyboards. It was built in 1895 by Nicholson and Lord. It was made bigger in 1917, and then rebuilt and divided in 1961 to show the west window.

The church also has a ring of eight bells. Six of these bells were made at the famous Whitechapel Bell Foundry in London. One was cast in 1856, and five more in 1890. The other two bells were made by John Taylor & Co in 1907. The church's records, called parish registers, go all the way back to 1557!

What Else Can You See Outside?

At the entrance to the churchyard, there are two old gate posts from the 1700s. These are also listed as Grade II historic structures. On the front of these posts, you can see carvings of skulls and crossbones!

In the churchyard, there's also a stone cross base from the 1400s or 1500s. It has a square base and an eight-sided shaft on steps. A modern wooden cross was placed on top of the shaft in the 1900s. Part of the garden wall of Gawsworth Old Hall also separates the churchyard from the Hall's grounds. This wall is also a Grade II listed building.

The churchyard is also home to three war graves. These are the resting places of two British soldiers from World War I and one from World War II.

Images for kids

Garden walls at Gawsworth Old Hall
Pair of gatepiers in churchyard of St James
A stone cross base and part of the shaft, set on steps and surmounted with modern wooden cross