St Luke's Church, Lower Whitley facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Luke's Church, Lower Whitley |
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St Luke's Church, Lower Whitley, from the northeast
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| OS grid reference | SJ 614 789 |
| Location | Lower Whitley, Cheshire |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Website | Parish of Aston-by-Sutton, Little Leigh & Lower Whitley |
| History | |
| Status | Parish church |
| Dedication | St Luke |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | Grade II* |
| Designated | 8 January 1970 |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Brown brick with sandstone dressings, grey slate roof Bell turret of stone with slate spire |
| Administration | |
| Parish | Lower Whitley |
| Deanery | Great Budworth |
| Archdeaconry | Chester |
| Diocese | Chester |
| Province | York |
St Luke's Church is a beautiful old church located in the village of Lower Whitley, in Cheshire, England. It's a special building that has been officially recognized as a Grade II* listed building. This means it's an important historical and architectural site that needs to be protected.
St Luke's is an active Anglican parish church. It serves the local community and is one of three churches in the area, working alongside St Peter, Aston-by-Sutton and St Michael and All Angels, Little Leigh.
Contents
Church History: A Look Back in Time
This church building started out as a smaller "chapel of ease" for the larger Great Budworth parish. We don't know exactly when it was first built.
However, in the late 1500s, the chapel was in really bad shape. A person named Thomas Touchet helped rebuild it on its original foundations. Over the years, the church has been changed and updated. A big change happened in 1880. During this time, a new organ was added, a new pulpit (where sermons are given) was put in, and the baptismal font (a basin for baptisms) was moved. Also, a special rounded section called an apse was added to the east end of the church.
Church Design: What It Looks Like
Outside the Church: Materials and Shape
St Luke's Church is built with brown bricks and has special sandstone decorations. The roof is made of grey slate tiles. The church has a nave (the main part where people sit) with four sections, and a chancel (the area near the altar) with three sections. The very end of the church, called the sanctuary, is shaped like a polygon (many-sided).
On the northwest side, there's a stone bell turret with a slate spire. This turret holds one bell.
Inside the Church: Special Features
The roof inside the church is a type called a hammerbeam roof. It has amazing, detailed carvings that are considered "outstanding." The wooden benches, called pews, are very old, dating back to the 1600s. They have special panels and round decorations at their ends.
The colorful stained glass windows were likely made around the 1860s by a company called Clayton and Bell. The church also has a large organ with two keyboards. It was built around 1880 by Henry Willis and Company and has been updated a few times since then. The church's records of baptisms go all the way back to 1777!
Outside the Church: Other Interesting Things
In the churchyard, you can find a sundial. This old clock, which tells time by the sun, probably dates from the mid-1700s. It's also a listed building, just like the church.
There's also a special gate called a lychgate at the entrance to the churchyard. This gate is a memorial to remember those who served in the First World War, and it even has a clock built into it.
More to Explore
- Grade II* listed buildings in Cheshire West and Chester
- Listed buildings in Whitley, Cheshire
