St Paul's Church, Withington facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Paul's Withington |
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 St Paul's Withington
Location in Greater Manchester
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| 53°25′57″N 2°13′41″W / 53.43254°N 2.22794°W | |
| Location | Manchester, North-West England |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| History | |
| Founded | 1841 |
| Architecture | |
| Heritage designation | Grade II listed |
| Designated | 1988 |
| Architect(s) | Hayley & Brown |
| Style | Neo-Norman |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Red brick |
| Administration | |
| Parish | Withington |
| Deanery | Withington |
| Archdeaconry | Manchester |
| Diocese | Manchester |
| Province | York |
St Paul's Church, Withington is a historic church in Manchester, England. It is a Church of England parish church, meaning it serves the local community of Withington. The church is located on Wilmslow Road and has a primary school next to it. St Paul's is considered a very important building, which is why it is a Grade II listed building.
People come to St Paul's for different types of church services. These include traditional Holy Communion services. Sometimes, there are also special evening services like Choral Evensong or evening prayer. These services often support a group called L'Arche in Manchester.
Contents
History of St Paul's Church
St Paul's Church was built in 1841. At that time, Withington was changing from a small village in Lancashire into a busier part of Manchester. Before St Paul's was built, people in Withington had to travel to the Church of St James, Didsbury for Anglican church services.
The land for St Paul's was given by Wilbraham Egerton, 1st Earl Egerton. He wanted to provide a place of worship for the people living in Withington. The church was designed by a company of architects from Manchester called Hayley & Brown. They also designed other churches in North-West England.
Just a few years after the church was built, a school was opened next to it in 1844. This school, St Paul's Primary School, was also built on land donated by Lord Egerton.
Famous Visitor: Felix Mendelssohn
In April 1847, a very famous composer named Felix Mendelssohn visited Manchester. He came to St Paul's Church to play the new pipe organ there. A church official later wrote that Mendelssohn "played a service and gave a recital upon the organ." He even said the organ was "an excellent instrument."
Mendelssohn had family connections to Withington. The very first wedding held at St Paul's was for a cousin of his wife, Cécile. Another cousin also got married there in 1864.
Church Design and Features
St Paul's Church is built from red bricks and has stone details. Its most noticeable part is a tall clock tower. This tower has strong square supports called buttresses and four pointed decorations called pinnacles at the top.
The outside of the church has some features from a style called Neo-Norman architecture. This means it looks a bit like buildings from the Norman period. You can see this in its tall, rounded windows and the main west door. The arch above this door has special carvings known as "dog-tooth ornamentation."
Changes Over Time
The church building was made bigger in 1863 by an architect named J. Lowe. He added a chancel, which is the part of the church where the altar is. He also added an aisle on the south side of the chancel and a space for the organ above it. These new parts were supported by rounded arches in a style called Romanesque architecture. These arches have decorative carvings on their tops.
In 1921, the chancel aisle was turned into a special war memorial chapel. A small rounded section called an apse was added to the east end of this chapel. The inside of the church was updated in the 1970s. However, it still has some of its original features from the Victorian era.
Stained Glass and Memorials
The church has beautiful stained glass windows. At the east end, there are three windows made by a company called Ward and Hughes. In the main part of the church, there are two windows from 1901 by a local glassmaker, Walter J. Pearce. One shows a young Queen Victoria. The other is a stained-glass copy of Holman Hunt's famous painting, Light of the World.
The chapel has four smaller windows that remember people who died in World War I. One window is dedicated to 15 young people from the Sunday school who were killed in the war.
Inside the church, there are also several memorials on the walls. The oldest one remembers Robert Tebbut, who helped a lot with building St Paul's. He died in 1842, just a year after the church was founded. The memorial says he was a key person in getting the church built.
Churchyard and Lych Gate
The churchyard around St Paul's has many old Victorian gravestones. In 1894, a strong oak gate called a lych gate was put at the entrance to the churchyard. It was given by a kind local person named Clayton Chorlton. Sadly, in 2007, these gates were stolen during a Sunday morning service.
Images for kids
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The 1894 lych gate
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Dog-tooth ornamentation above the Neo-Norman west door
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Ornate Victorian graves in the churchyard
