St Mary's and St Helen's Church, Neston facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St Mary and St Helen Church, Neston
St Mary and St Helen Church, Neston, from the north
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OS grid reference	SJ 292 775
Location	Neston, Cheshire
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Website	Neston, St Mary and St Helen
History
Status	Parish church
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade II*
Designated	27 December 1962
Architect(s)	J. Francis Doyle
Architectural type	Church
Style	Gothic, Gothic revival
Completed	1875
Specifications
Materials	Red sandstone Slate tiled roof with red tile cresting
Administration
Parish	Neston
Deanery	Wirral South
Archdeaconry	Chester
Diocese	Chester
Province	York

St Mary and St Helen Church is a special old church located in Neston, a town in Cheshire, England. It's an active church that belongs to the Anglican faith. This church is so important that it's listed as a Grade II* building on the National Heritage List for England. This means it's a very important historical building. It works closely with St Michael's Church in Little Neston, and St Thomas' Church in Parkgate is also part of its parish.

A Look Back in Time

We know there was a priest in Neston way back when the Domesday Book was written. This was a very old record book from around 1086. The first written proof of a church on this exact spot is from about 1170. A baron named Ralph de Montalt, who worked for the Earl of Chester, started it.

It's likely an even older church was here before that. When the floor was being fixed in the 1800s, workers found pieces of old crosses. These crosses were from before the Norman Conquest in 1066. Experts later said they were "Hiberno-Norse" or Viking Age in style. Another piece was found in the church's belfry in the 1980s. Today, you can see these old cross pieces displayed at the west end of the church.

In the 1700s, some people in the church disagreed with the church leaders. This happened when new seating areas, called galleries, were added. These additions actually damaged the church building. In 1871, an architect checked the church and said it wasn't safe. So, between 1874 and 1875, the main part of the church was rebuilt. An architect named J. Francis Doyle led this work. He used some of the old Norman architecture materials in the new design, which was in the Early English Gothic style.

What the Church Looks Like

Outside the Church

The church is built from sandstone, which is a type of rock. The roofs are made of slate tiles with red tiles along the top ridge. The tower is the only part of the church that is still from the original old building. It's described as a strong, rough stone tower with gargoyles. It doesn't have many fancy decorations. The bottom part of the tower probably uses some of the old Norman materials. An extra level was added to the tower in 1854.

The main part of the church has a long central area called a nave. It has six sections, with side areas called aisles. There's also a chancel with two sections, a small room called a vestry on the north side, and a porch on the south side. The aisles have pointed roofs, and the nave has a clerestory. A clerestory is a row of windows high up on the wall, letting in light.

Inside the Church

The baptismal font is from the 1500s. It has eight sides with panels shaped like four-leaf clovers, called quatrefoils. This is the font where Lady Hamilton was baptized as Emy Lyon on May 12, 1765. The only special memorial inside the church is a carved stone. It remembers a priest from the 1300s.

Some of the beautiful stained glass windows were designed by Edward Burne-Jones. They were made by a company called Morris & Co.. Other windows were designed by Charles Eamer Kempe. Between the tower and the nave, there are fancy wrought iron gates. These gates were put there to remember Reginald Bushell, who passed away in 1904.

The church has a large organ with three keyboards, called manuals. It was built in 1900 by Forster and Andrews. There are also eight bells in the church tower. Four of these bells were made in 1731 by Rudhall of Gloucester. The other four were made in 1884 by Mears and Stainbank at the Whitechapel Bell Foundry. The church's old records, called parish registers, start from 1559. They show that Emma Lyon, who later became Lady Hamilton, was baptized here in 1761. The records of the church leaders, called churchwardens' accounts, go back to 1701.

Things Around the Church

In the churchyard, there is a sundial from 1717. It has a red sandstone base shaped like a vase on a square bottom. This sundial is also listed as a Grade II building. Close to the church, there's a building called a hearse house. It was used to store a hearse, which is a vehicle for carrying coffins. It's made of red sandstone with a slate roof and red ridge tiles. This building is also listed as Grade II.

Susan Burney is buried in the churchyard. She was the daughter of a music historian named Charles Burney and the sister of the famous writer Fanny Burney. The churchyard also holds the graves of seven British service members who died in World War I.

See also

• Grade II* listed buildings in Cheshire West and Chester
• Listed buildings in Neston