St Matthew's Church, Buckley facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Matthew's Church, Buckley |
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St Matthew's Church, Buckley, from the south
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| OS grid reference | SJ 284,646 |
| Location | Buckley, Flintshire |
| Country | Wales |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Website | St Matthew's, Buckley |
| History | |
| Status | Parish church |
| Dedication | Saint Matthew |
| Dedicated | 1822 |
| Consecrated | 25 September 1822 |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | Grade II* |
| Designated | 11 August 1997 |
| Architect(s) | John Oates, Douglas and Minshull (reconstruction) |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Gothic Revival |
| Groundbreaking | 1821 |
| Completed | 1905 |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Stone, with timber-framed clerestory |
| Administration | |
| Parish | Church of St Matthew, Buckley, with the Church of the Good Shepherd, Drury |
| Deanery | Borderlands |
| Archdeaconry | Wrexham |
| Diocese | St Asaph |
| Province | Church in Wales |
St Matthew's Church is a beautiful old church in Buckley, Flintshire, Wales. It's an active Anglican parish church, which means it's a local church for people who follow the Anglican faith. The church is part of the Borderlands Mission Area and the diocese of St Asaph. It's also a Grade II* listed building, which means it's a very important historical building that needs to be protected.
Contents
History of St Matthew's Church
The first church building here was built between 1821 and 1822. It was designed by an architect named John Oates. This first church was a "chapel-of-ease." This means it was a smaller church built for people who lived far from the main parish church.
Building the First Church
A plan for a new church on Buckley Mountain came about when a law called the Church Building Act 1818 was passed. This law made a lot of money available to build new churches. St Matthew's Church received a large donation of £4,052 from this fund. This made it the first and only church in Wales to get money from this special act.
Oates' design was described as a "plain but handsome Gothic structure." We know a lot about how it looked from old documents and parts of the building that still exist. It had a tall tower, a main hall called a nave, a short chancel (the area near the altar), and small rooms for the clergy and for baptisms.
Changes and Rebuilding
In 1874, Buckley became its own parish, and St Matthew's became its main church. However, the church building stayed mostly the same until Harry Drew became the vicar in 1897. Harry Drew was married to Mary Gladstone, whose father was William Ewart Gladstone, a famous prime minister.
In 1898, Drew started a big rebuilding project. He paid for a larger building for the clergy and choir. When William Gladstone died in 1898, his daughters, Mary Drew and Helen Gladstone, paid to rebuild the chancel. This new chancel was dedicated to their father.
In 1902, the church tower was changed. It was made shorter, and new windows were added. A special area for baptisms, called a baptistry, was created inside the tower to remember Gladstone's wife, Catherine, who had died in 1900. A porch was also added to the south side of the tower. This porch became known as the Ruskin Porch. Mary Drew paid for it by publishing letters written by John Ruskin, a friend of the Gladstone family.
The final part of the church's reconstruction happened in 1904. The main hall (nave) was replaced, and side sections called aisles were added. A clerestory, which is a row of windows high up on the wall, was also added. The architects for all these changes were Douglas and Minshull from Chester. The church was completed in 1905.
Church Architecture
St Matthew's Church has a special look, combining Gothic Revival and Arts and Crafts styles.
Exterior Design
The church has a three-part tower on the west side. It has a main hall (nave) and choir area with a clerestory and side aisles. There's also a many-sided chancel, a porch on the southwest, and rooms for the organ and clergy. The church is built from smooth, cut stone (ashlar) and has a timber-framed clerestory. It was originally roofed with green slate.
Interior Features
Most of the inside furniture and decorations were designed by Douglas and Minshull for the rebuilt church.
Fittings and Furniture Details
Many of the wooden items, mostly made of oak, were crafted by different companies. Guest and Wardle of Chester made things like benches and notice boards. Herbert Reed of Exeter created the carved pieces, such as the font cover, pulpit, and choir stalls. The main altar table was made by the building contractors, Parker brothers. The seating in the nave, which are rows of chairs linked together, was likely supplied by West and Collier.
The church also has beautiful artwork by Robert Hilton, an artist from Chester. This includes a copper altar cross and candlesticks, and an altar desk with copper decorations. He also made a special gold-embroidered altar cloth and a prayer board with copper and enamel.
Below the high windows (clerestory) are wall paintings from 1910. These paintings show the Beatitudes, which are teachings from the Bible. They were designed by Minshull and Muspratt and painted by Robert and Henry Ellis. Many of the colorful stained glass windows were made by Henry Holiday. Other windows were created by H. J. Stammers and C. Ford Whitcombe.
The church has a large two-manual organ, built in 1905 by John Bishop & Sons. It has been repaired and updated twice since then. There is also a set of eight bells. These bells were made in 1902 by John Taylor & Sons and were given to the church by Mrs Drew.
External Features
Outside the church, there are a few interesting things to see.
At the entrance to the churchyard is a timber-framed lychgate. This is a covered gate that was built in 1901 by Douglas and Minshull to celebrate the end of the millennium. Near the lychgate is a Calvary, which is a cross memorial. It was put up in 1921 to remember those who died in the 1914-18 war. At the bottom of the churchyard is Churchyard House, a brick building designed in 1898 by Douglas and Minshull. It was built to store a wheeled cart used for coffins.
See also
