St Paul's Church, Hooton facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St Paul's Church, Childer Thorton
West face of St Paul's Church, Hooton.jpg
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OS grid reference	SJ 367 775
Location	Hooton, Cheshire
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Website	St Paul, Hooton
Architecture
Heritage designation	Grade II
Designated	17 May 1985
Architect(s)	James K. Colling
Architectural type	Church
Style	Romanesque Revival, Gothic Revival
Groundbreaking	1858
Completed	1862
Construction cost	£5,000
Specifications
Materials	Red and white stone Slate roofs
Administration
Parish	St Paul, Hooton
Deanery	Wirral South
Archdeaconry	Chester
Diocese	Chester
Province	York

St Paul's Church is a beautiful old church in Hooton, a village in Cheshire, England. It's an active Anglican church, which means it's part of the Church of England. This church is very special because it's listed as a Grade II* building on the National Heritage List for England. This means it's a really important historical building. Some experts even call it "unquestionably one of the most spectacular churches of Cheshire."

History of St Paul's Church

This amazing church was built between 1858 and 1862. It was designed by an architect named James Kellaway Colling. A wealthy banker from Liverpool, R. C. Naylor, paid for it. Building the church cost about £5,000 back then. That was a huge amount of money in 1862!

Architecture and Design

St Paul's Church has a very interesting design. It mixes two old styles: Romanesque Revival and Gothic Revival.

Outside the Church

The church is built using a mix of red and white stone. The roofs are covered with slate. If you look at the church from above, it has a cross shape.

It has a main area called the nave with three sections. There are also side parts called aisles on the north and south. Two arms, called transepts, stick out to the north and south. The front part, where the altar is, is called the chancel. It also has aisles that go around it, forming an ambulatory.

You'll find a porch at the west end and another on the south side. Above the middle part of the church, where the nave and transepts meet, there's the base of a dome. On top of that is a lantern with a small spire. There's also a separate belfry spire above the south porch.

The west porch is built in the Romanesque style, which is an older, round-arched style. Above it, there's a beautiful rose window, which is a large, circular window. Some other windows in the church are also Romanesque, while others have pointed arches with decorative stone patterns called plate tracery.

Inside the Church

When you go inside, you'll see rows of arches, called arcades. These arches are supported by columns made from a special stone called Peterhead granite. The tops of these columns, called capitals, are carved in a style similar to early French Gothic art.

The font, which is used for baptisms, is made from dark green serpentine stone. It's quite old, dating back to 1851. This font was so special that it even won a medal at the famous Great Exhibition in London that same year!

The church also has beautiful stained glass windows. These were made by famous artists and companies like Heaton, Butler and Bayne, Clayton and Bell, and Kempe. The church organ, which has two manuals (keyboards), was built by a company called Rushworth and Dreaper.

Churchyard and Memorials

Outside the church, in the churchyard, there are graves of five airmen who died during World War II. Four of them were from the British air force, and one was from the Australian air force. These graves remind us of their sacrifice.

See also

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