St Mary's Church, Astbury facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St Mary's Church, Astbury
St Mary's Church, Astbury, from the west
Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
OS grid reference	SJ 846,615
Location	Newbold Astbury, Cheshire
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Website	St Mary's Church, Astbury
History
Status	Parish church
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade I
Designated	14 February 1967
Architect(s)	Anthony Salvin, George Gilbert Scott (restorations)
Architectural type	Church
Style	Gothic
Specifications
Materials	Tower millstone grit Body of the church yellow sandstone with a metal roof
Administration
Parish	Astbury
Deanery	Congleton
Archdeaconry	Macclesfield
Diocese	Chester
Province	York

St Mary's Church is a historic Anglican church in the village of Newbold Astbury, Cheshire, England. It is a very important building, listed as a Grade I building. This means it's considered to be of "exceptional interest" and is protected. Many people have praised its beautiful architecture.

There might have been a church here even before the Normans arrived in England. However, the oldest parts we see today are from the Norman period. The church's main shape and outside look mostly come from the 1200s and 1300s. A big rebuilding happened in the late 1400s, when the high windows (called a clerestory) were added. You can see different styles of English Gothic architecture in the church, like Early English, Decorated, and Perpendicular. During the English Civil War, soldiers used the church to stable their horses! In the 1800s, the inside of the church was fixed up by George Gilbert Scott. Old wall paintings were found, and new stained glass windows were put in.

The church has some unique features. For example, its main area (the nave) is very wide for a village church, and it's shaped like a trapezoid. The church tower stands separate from the main building, connected by a short passage. There are also two other porches. Inside, you'll find medieval furniture and many memorials. The churchyard has old gravestones from the 1600s and five other important structures, including a special tomb with a canopy. St Mary's is still an active church today, holding services and running groups for both children and adults.

History of St Mary's Church

The exact beginnings of St Mary's Church are not fully known. A survey from 1086, called the Domesday Book, mentions a priest in Astbury, but not a church building. However, some old stone pieces found nearby, like coffin lids and parts of a cross, suggest there might have been an earlier church on this spot, possibly from before the Norman conquest.

The oldest part of the current church is a round-arched doorway. Experts believe this part dates back to the mid-1100s. At that time, the church was probably a simple rectangular building, mostly made of wood. In the mid-1200s, the east end of the church was rebuilt with stone, adding a chancel (the area around the altar) and a sanctuary. Later, the rest of the church, including the nave and aisles (side sections), was built. This work was finished in the 1300s.

The church tower was built around the late 1200s. It's unusual because it's not at the usual west end of the church. Instead, it stands to the north of the main building, about 6 feet (1.8 meters) away. In the 1300s, the south porch was added. This porch even had a room upstairs for a priest or for keeping important church items. We don't know if the tower's spire was built in the 1300s or 1400s.

Changes Over the Centuries

A lot of rebuilding happened in the late 1400s. This work likely started with the south side of the church, then the north side, and the addition of the high windows (clerestory). The rebuilding was probably finished by about 1525.

The west porch was likely started in the 1300s, with its upper two floors added in the 1400s. The roof of the main part of the church was repaired in 1615. During the English Civil War, soldiers known as Roundheads used the church to stable their horses. They damaged the medieval stained glass windows and took some church furniture, including the organ.

Since then, there haven't been many big changes. In the 1800s, the church was restored by Anthony Salvin and later by George Gilbert Scott. Scott removed plaster from the walls and built a small gallery. During the Victorian era, the screen behind the altar (reredos) and most of the stained glass were added.

Church Architecture and Design

Outside the Church

The main part of the church is made of yellow sandstone blocks. The tower is built from millstone grit, which is unusual for churches in Cheshire. One expert, Alec Clifton-Taylor, noted how sharp the details of the tower's stonework still look after 500 years, unlike the sandstone, which wears away more easily. The roof is made of metal.

The church combines different styles of architecture: Norman, Early English, Decorated, and Perpendicular. The overall shape of the church is like a trapezoid, meaning the west end is 8 feet (2.4 meters) wider than the east end. The main part of the church has a nave and chancel without a clear dividing wall, and aisles on the north and south sides. The aisles are rectangular, so the narrowing happens within the nave and chancel. The west end of the nave is 40 feet (12 meters) wide, which is very wide for a local church. It's even a bit wider than the nave of Chester Cathedral. The aisles continue along the sides of the chancel, forming chapels.

St Mary's Church from the south

The tower has three levels and is supported by buttresses (stone supports). On the west side of the lowest level, there's a doorway in a Romanesque style. The top level has bell openings with two lights (sections) on each side. The top edge is plain, and a gargoyle (a carved stone figure) sticks out from the west side. The spire is eight-sided, with two rows of small dormer windows (lucarnes).

The north side of the church has four sections, separated by buttresses. One section has a priest's door with a lancet window above it. The other sections have two-light windows. The walls of the aisles and the high windows (clerestory) have battlemented tops, like a castle. The clerestory has seven sections on each side, each with a four-light window. At the east end, there are three windows. The middle one, at the end of the chancel, has seven lights. The two aisle windows next to it have four and five lights.

The south side of the church has nine sections, also divided by buttresses. In the third section from the west, there's a porch. The other sections each have a two-light window. The porch has two levels, with corner buttresses and a battlemented top with gargoyles. The lower level has a pointed arch doorway, and the upper level has a two-light window. Inside the porch are stone seats and parts of two stoups (holy water fonts). The stairs to the upper level are made of old gravestones. On the outside wall of the upper level, there's a sundial.

The west end of the church is in the Perpendicular style and has five sections. In the center is another porch, this one with three levels. The bottom level has a double doorway, with a canopied niche above it that holds a weathered statue of a saint. The middle level has a three-light window, and the top level has a two-light window. At the very top, there's a battlemented parapet. Inside the porch, there are four corbels (supporting brackets) carved with musicians. On each side of the porch, there's a four-light window.

Inside the Church

Chancel screen

The nave and chancel are separated from the aisles by seven-bay arcades (rows of arches), with columns that don't have capitals (decorated tops). At the top of each column, facing the nave, there's a carved human face. The roofs are divided into panels and have many carvings, including bosses (decorative bumps), shields, and inscriptions.

The chapel at the west end of the south aisle is called the Lady Chapel. The one on the north side is dedicated to Saint Mary. St Mary's Church has more medieval fittings and furniture than any other church in Cheshire. There's a screen between the nave and the chancel, and other screens between the aisles and the chapels. The chancel screen, from 1500, is beautifully carved with birds, roses, vines, and leaves. It has ten sections with special vaulting. The chancel stalls (seats) and the carved wooden eagle lectern (stand for reading) are from around the same time. This lectern is one of the oldest eagle lecterns in the United Kingdom. The stalls used to have misericords (small shelves to lean on when standing).

Much of the furniture dates from the 1600s and is in the Jacobean style. This includes the altar rails, the eight-sided pulpit (where sermons are given), the box pews (enclosed seats), the reredos (screen behind the altar) in the Lady Chapel, and the font cover. The font itself is from the Perpendicular period. The reredos in the chancel, from 1866, was designed by J. S. Crowther.

The royal arms of King Charles II are in the north aisle. During the 1852 restoration, white paint was removed from the walls. This revealed the royal arms of King Henry VII and paintings, including one of The Blessed Virgin knighting St George. Stained glass in the west windows of both aisles dates from around 1500. Other glass is from the Victorian era, including the east window from about 1858 and the window at the east end of the north aisle from about 1861. There are later windows from 1920 in the south wall of the Lady Chapel. In the north aisle, there's a small piece of an Anglo-Saxon cross-shaft with interlace decoration from the late 900s or 1000s.

There are 76 memorials in the church. These include a 1300s tomb of Ralph Davenport, showing a knight in armor. There's also a tomb chest from 1654 and a statue (effigy) of Lady Egerton, who died in 1599. The church also has two special chairs and six old chests, one of which is iron-bound and from the 1200s.

The church has a ring of eight bells. Six of these were remade in 1925 from older 1600s bells. The other two bells were added in 1998. The organ was originally made in 1912 for King's Hall, Stoke-on-Trent. It was given to the church in 1962 and was rebuilt and installed. The church's records (parish registers) start in 1572.

Outside the Church: Churchyard Features

Yew tree in Astbury churchyard

The churchyard has 51 gravestones from the 1600s. The most important monument is a canopied tomb of a member of the Venables family, from the late 1200s. It used to be inside the church. This tomb has two figures, a man and a woman, with their hands together in prayer. It's the only one of its kind in Cheshire and is a protected monument.

There are two other important memorials in the churchyard, both made of yellow sandstone from the medieval period. They both have weathered statues. One, to the north, might show a cleric (church leader) praying. The other, to the south, is a knight in armor who is missing a leg.

The churchyard also has a sundial. It sits on two eight-sided steps that were originally the base of a 1500s cross. The sundial itself is from the 1700s. This sundial is also a protected monument. The gateway to the churchyard is from the 1600s. It's a yellow sandstone arch with decorative pinnacles and a battlemented top. All these structures are listed as Grade II, meaning they are important historic buildings.

The churchyard also contains the war graves of 16 British servicemen. Fifteen are from World War I, and one is from World War II. A yew tree in the churchyard is thought to be over 1,000 years old! There's also a newer burial ground, called 'Astbury Cemetery', located outside the village.

Why St Mary's Church is Special

St Mary's Church was officially recognized as a Grade I listed building on February 14, 1967. This means it's considered "of exceptional interest" and sometimes even "internationally important."

Architectural experts have highly praised the church. Raymond Richards, writing in 1947, called it one of the most beautiful churches in the county. The authors of the Buildings of England series described it as "one of the most exciting Cheshire churches." Alec Clifton-Taylor included it in his list of "outstanding" English parish churches. Simon Jenkins gave it three stars in his book England's Thousand Best Churches.

St Mary's Church Today

St Mary's Church stands on a raised spot overlooking the village green. It is an active Anglican parish church. The church holds regular services and activities for young people on Sundays. It also runs a Prayer Group, a Toddler Group, and other groups for children of different ages. The church publishes a monthly magazine for the local community.

See also

• Grade I listed buildings in Cheshire East
• Grade I listed churches in Cheshire
• Listed buildings in Newbold Astbury
• List of church restorations and alterations by Anthony Salvin