St Peter's Church, Hindley facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Peter's Church, Hindley |
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St Peter's Church, Hindley
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| OS grid reference | SD 616,042 |
| Location | Hindley, Wigan, Greater Manchester |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Website | St Peter, Hindley |
| History | |
| Status | Parish church |
| Dedication | Saint Peter |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | Grade II |
| Designated | 10 May 1988 |
| Architect(s) | E. G. Paley |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Gothic Revival |
| Groundbreaking | 1863 |
| Completed | 1866 |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Rock-faced stone with ashlar dressings Slate roof |
| Administration | |
| Parish | St Peter, Hindley |
| Deanery | Wigan |
| Archdeaconry | Warrington |
| Diocese | Liverpool |
| Province | York |
St Peter's Church is a special old building in Hindley, Greater Manchester, England. You can find it where Atherton Road and Liverpool Road meet. It's an active church that belongs to the Church of England. This church is so important that it's officially protected as a Grade II listed building. This means it has special historical or architectural value.
Contents
History of St Peter's Church
St Peter's Church was built between 1863 and 1866. It was designed by a famous architect named E. G. Paley from Lancaster. Building the church cost about £9,507 back then. It was big enough to seat 689 people.
Changes to the Church Parish in 2019
In 2019, the way the church parish was organized changed a lot. The old Parish of St. Peter's joined with other nearby parishes. These included All Saints, Good Shepherd Bamfurlong, St. John's, and St. Nathaniel's. Together, they formed a new, bigger parish called Chapelfields.
Many people who went to the church did not like these changes. They even organized protests and signed petitions to try and stop it. Reverend David M Brooke became the new team rector to help set up this new parish. The church lost some of its independence. For example, it could no longer manage its own money or choose its own priest. The Bishop of Liverpool made these decisions. Because of these changes, some people stopped going to the church. They felt like their community was not as close anymore. The way the Chapelfields parish and other churches in Wigan are set up is currently being looked at. There are plans to go back to a more traditional system. This would mean one church for one parish.
Architecture of St Peter's Church
St Peter's Church is built from strong, rough-cut stone. It has smooth stone decorations and a roof made of slate. The church has a main area called a nave with five sections. It also has a raised section with windows called a clerestory. There are aisles on the north and south sides. The chancel is at the east end, with a small room for clergy (vestry) to the southwest. There are also porches on the north and south sides. A tall tower with a pointed roof (spire) is on the northeast side.
Outside the Church
The tower has strong supports called buttresses and a small stair turret. It has a window with three sections on the north side. The bell openings are in pairs, each with two sections and slatted covers. At the top of the tower, there's a decorative edge (cornice) and carved stone figures (gargoyles). The spire has two levels of small windows called lucarnes. The lower ones have two sections. Along the walls of the aisles, there are windows with two sections. These windows have decorative stone patterns called tracery. Between the windows are buttresses with pointed tops (gables). The decorative edges of these gables are carved with animals. The clerestory has pairs of two-section windows. At the west end of the nave, there is a large window with four sections. It has gabled buttresses on either side. The west ends of the aisles have two-section windows. The east window has three sections and is also flanked by gabled buttresses. In the south wall of the chancel, there is a two-section window with a three-leaf shape at the top.
Inside the Church
Inside, the arches are supported by round columns called piers. These piers have decorative tops called crocketted capitals. The ceiling looks like the inside of a wagon and is supported by brackets called corbels. The church has two beautiful chandeliers made of wrought iron. The font, where baptisms happen, is round. It sits on a column shaped like a four-leaf clover. The bowl of the font has round carvings.
There is a stained glass window from 1881 that remembers a nine-year-old child. It even includes his photograph twice! The organ is at the west end of the church. It has three keyboards and was built in 1873 by Edmund Schulze. It was rebuilt in 1903 by Thomas Pendlebury. In 1966, J. H. Cowen added a separate electric control panel and more sounds. Most of Cowen's changes were reversed in 1977 by the Pendlebury Organ Company. They also added a new control panel with pull-out stops. This organ has a special award called a Historic Organ Certificate, Grade II*. However, this organ no longer works. The church now uses a digital organ built by Hugh Banton in 2004. The church also has a set of eight bells. All of them were made in 1866 by Mears and Stainbank.
More Information
- List of churches in Greater Manchester
- Listed buildings in Hindley, Greater Manchester
- List of ecclesiastical works by E. G. Paley
