St Mary's Church, Hale facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Mary's Church, Hale |
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St Mary's Church, Hale, from the southeast
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| OS grid reference | SJ 471 820 |
| Location | Church End, Hale, Halton, Cheshire |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Website | St Mary, Hale |
| Architecture | |
| Heritage designation | Grade II* |
| Designated | 28 January 1971 |
| Architect(s) | Buxeby and Evans (1979–80) |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Gothic, Neoclassical |
| Completed | 1980 |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Sandstone, slate roof |
| Administration | |
| Parish | Hale St Mary |
| Deanery | Widnes |
| Archdeaconry | Warrington |
| Diocese | Liverpool |
| Province | York |
St Mary's Church is a special old building located in the village of Hale, in Cheshire, England. It's officially recognized as a Grade II* listed building, which means it's a very important historical site. Today, it's still a busy Anglican church, part of the Church of England, serving its local community.
Contents
A Look Back: Church History
The oldest part of St Mary's Church is its tower, which was built way back in the 14th century (the 1300s!). The rest of the church was built much later, between 1758 and 1759. It replaced an even older church that stood on the same spot.
Over the years, the church had some updates. In 1874, a new room called a vestry was added. More changes happened in 1903.
Sadly, in October 1977, a big fire badly damaged the church. Only the strong stone walls and the tower were left standing. Because of this fire, most of the earlier updates were lost. After the fire, builders found the old foundations of a narrower, timber-framed church. The church's roof and inside parts were completely rebuilt by architects Buxeby and Evans between 1979 and 1980.
Church Design: Inside and Out
Outside the Church
St Mary's Church is built from red sandstone blocks, and its roof is made of slate. The church has a rectangular shape with five sections. It has a tall tower at the west end, a vestry (a room for clergy) on the northwest side, and a small chapel that sticks out on the northeast. There's also a porch on the south side where people enter.
The tower is square and has strong corner supports called buttresses. At the very top, it has a crenellated parapet, which looks like the top of a castle wall. There's a main door on the west side of the tower, with a window right above it. Higher up, where the bells are, you can see two-light windows with louvred openings on all sides. These help the sound of the bells travel.
The windows along the sides of the main church building are rounded at the top. The large window at the east end is designed in a special "Venetian" style, with big square panes of glass. Look closely, and you might see a carved cherub (a small angel figure) in the middle stone above the window.
Inside the Church
The roof you see inside today was built after the 1977 fire, between 1979 and 1980. It's made of shiny varnished chestnut wood. The roof is divided into five sections and has lots of decorative carvings.
At the west end of the church, there's a gallery where the organ is. This gallery is a copy of the one that was destroyed in the fire. It stands on strong, simple columns called Tuscan columns.
Many of the church's furnishings (like the furniture) have been brought in from other places. The font, which is a bowl used for baptisms, has cherubs carved on it and dates back to the 18th century. Fun fact: it spent about 100 years in a garden before coming to St Mary's!
The wooden pulpit, where the priest gives sermons, is from the 17th century and also stands on Tuscan columns. It actually came all the way from York Minster, a very famous cathedral! The pews, which are the long benches where people sit, came from another church that was taken down, St Mary's in Ince-in-Makerfield.
The tower holds eight bells. The six largest bells are made of steel. The two smaller bells were made more recently, in 1987, from bronze.
What's Around the Church?
In the churchyard, which is the area around the church, you can find the grave of a very famous person named John Middleton. He was known as the "Childe of Hale" because he was said to be over 9 feet (about 2.7 meters) tall!
Also in the churchyard are the graves of soldiers who died in the World Wars. There are four graves for soldiers from World War I and two for soldiers from World War II. These are special places that honor their memory.
See also
- Listed buildings in Hale, Halton
