St Peter's Church, Tabley facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Peter's Church, Tabley |
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St Peter's Church, Tabley, from the northwest
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| OS grid reference | SJ 725 777 |
| Location | Tabley House near Knutsford, Cheshire |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| History | |
| Status | Private chapel |
| Dedication | St Peter |
| Consecrated | 1929 |
| Architecture | |
| Heritage designation | Grade I |
| Designated | 5 March 1959 |
| Architectural type | Chapel |
| Style | Gothic |
| Groundbreaking | 1675 |
| Completed | 1929 |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Brick with stone dressings Stone slate roof |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | Chester |
| Province | York |
St Peter's Church is a special private church, also called a chapel. It is located west of Tabley House near Knutsford, in Cheshire, England. This chapel is very important. It is listed as a Grade I building on the National Heritage List for England. This means it is one of the most important historic buildings in the country.
Contents
History of the Chapel
The chapel was first built between 1675 and 1678. It was located on an island in a small lake called The Moat. This island was right next to Tabley Old Hall. Sir Peter Leycester had it built.
Around 1720, a tower was added to the chapel. But in 1927, the chapel had to be moved. Its foundations were getting damaged because of "brine-pumping." This is when salt water is pumped from underground, which can make the ground unstable. So, the whole chapel was carefully moved to where it stands today.
How the Chapel Looks
Building Structure
The chapel is connected to Tabley House by a passage. It is built using bricks with stone decorations. The roof is made of stone slates.
The building has a tower on the west side. It also has a main area called a nave, which has three sections. There is also an ante-chapel, which is a small room before the main chapel. Above this room is a gallery, like a balcony.
The tower has three levels. The bottom level has a window with two parts. Above this window is a low wall called a parapet. This wall has stone posts called balusters and round stone decorations called finials.
The next level of the tower is set back a bit. It has clock faces on three sides. The top level is the belfry, where the bells are kept. It has two-part openings with wooden slats called louvres. These openings have stone frames. At the very top, there is another parapet with balusters and finials, just like the one below.
Inside the Chapel
The ceiling inside the chapel is curved, which is called coved. The walls inside the chapel are covered with wooden panels. The seats for the people, called stalls, are placed along the sides of the chapel.
The pulpit, where the priest gives sermons, has eight sides. It has a special canopy above it called a sounding board. There is also a very old hourglass on the pulpit. The reredos, which is a decorated screen behind the altar, was painted by Lady Leighton. It was carved by Countess Bathurst, who was one of Lady Leighton's aunts.
One of the windows has beautiful stained glass from the 1600s, made in Flanders. Another window, made in 1895, was designed by Edward Burne-Jones and created by Morris & Co..
In the ante-chapel, there is a war memorial. It remembers the people who lived on the estate and died in the First World War. This memorial is made from wood panels that came from the old Tabley Hall. The organ, a musical instrument, was built in 1876 by Bryceson Brothers and Morten of London.
The chapel also keeps old records called registers. These records go back to 1678. They show the baptisms (christenings) and weddings of the Leycester family and the people who lived on their land.
More Information
- Grade I listed buildings in Cheshire East
- Grade I listed churches in Cheshire
- Listed buildings in Tabley Inferior
