St Mary's Church, Handbridge facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St Mary's Church, Handbridge
St Mary's Church, Handbridge
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OS grid reference	SJ 406 655
Location	Handbridge, Chester, Cheshire
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Churchmanship	Broad church
History
Status	Parish church
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade II*
Designated	10 January 1972
Architect(s)	F. B. Wade, P. H. Lockwood
Architectural type	Church
Style	Gothic Revival
Completed	1914
Specifications
Spire height	168 feet (51.2 m)
Materials	Red sandstone, slate roofs
Administration
Parish	St Mary without the Walls, Chester
Deanery	Chester
Archdeaconry	Chester
Diocese	Chester
Province	York

St Mary's Church is a beautiful old church located in Handbridge, a part of Chester, Cheshire, England. It sits on Overleigh Road, just south of the River Dee. People sometimes call it the Church of St Mary-without-the-Walls to tell it apart from another church, St Mary-on-the-Hill, which is inside Chester's old city walls. This church is very special and is listed as a Grade II* building, meaning it's historically important. It's an active Anglican parish church, which means it's part of the Church of England.

History of St Mary's Church

The church was built a long time ago, between 1885 and 1887. It was designed by an architect named F. B. Wade. The person who paid for it was the 1st Duke of Westminster, a very important and wealthy person at the time. Later, in 1914, a small entrance area called a porch was added to the south side of the tower. This porch was designed by another architect, P. H. Lockwood.

Architecture of the Church

St Mary's Church is built from a type of stone called ashlar Waverton stone. It also has details made from Runcorn sandstone. The roofs are covered with green slate from Westmorland.

Outside the Church

The church has a main long part called a nave with five sections. It also has a clerestory, which is a row of windows high up. There's a chancel (the area around the altar) with three sections, and a small chapel on the southeast side. You can also find an organ room and a vestry (a room for changing clothes).

There are two entrances, or porches, one on the south side and one on the north. At the west end of the church, there's a tall tower with three levels and a pointy top called a spire. The tower has clock faces on three sides and openings for bells. It also has a decorative top edge and two small towers, called pinnacles, at each corner. The spire has small windows, called lucarnes, and a weathervane at the very top.

Inside the Church

When you go inside, the baptistry (where baptisms happen) is in the tower. It has a floor made of colorful encaustic tiles and a stone font with a wooden cover. The beautiful stained glass windows in the baptistry were made in 1887 by Edward Frampton. They show a picture of Jesus being baptized. There's also a special memorial from 1900 to the first Duke of Westminster.

The main part of the church, the nave, has wooden floors. You walk up three steps to reach the chancel, which has decorative metal railings. The chancel floor is made of mosaic tiles. The chapel on the southeast side has a fancy metal screen. The pulpit (where sermons are given) and the lectern (where readings are done) are both made of oak wood.

On the north side of the chancel, there's a sedilia, which is a set of seats for the clergy. The large window at the east end of the church was probably also designed by Edward Frampton. The reredos (a screen behind the altar) was designed by Frederic Shields and made with a special technique called cloisonné by Clement Heaton. The church also has a set of eight bells that were made in 1887 by Mears and Stainbank.

Churchyard Features

The walls, gates, and railings around the churchyard were also designed by F. B. Wade for the first Duke of Westminster in 1887. These are also considered historically important and are listed as Grade II buildings.

See also

• Grade II* listed buildings in Cheshire West and Chester