St Stephen's Church, Copley facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Stephen's Church, Copley |
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St Stephen's Church, Copley, from the south
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| OS grid reference | SE 084 223 |
| Location | Copley, West Yorkshire |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Website | Churches Conservation Trust |
| History | |
| Founder(s) | Edward Akroyd |
| Dedication | Saint Stephen |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Redundant |
| Heritage designation | Grade II* |
| Designated | 6 June 1983 |
| Architect(s) | W. H. Crossland |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Gothic Revival |
| Completed | 1863 |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Stone, slate roof |
St Stephen's Church is an old Anglican church in the village of Copley, West Yorkshire, England. It's no longer used for regular church services, but it's a very important historical building. It's protected as a Grade II* listed building, which means it's a special place because of its history and architecture. The Churches Conservation Trust looks after it.
Contents
A Look Back in Time
St Stephen's Church was built in 1863. A wealthy businessman named Edward Akroyd paid for it. He was an industrialist, meaning he owned large factories. The church was designed by an architect named W. H. Crossland.
The church stands on a wooded hillside in the Calder Valley. It is directly across from a model village that Akroyd built for his workers and their families.
Church Design and Features
St Stephen's Church is built from stone and has a roof made of slate. Its design includes a main hall called a nave with five sections. It also has a raised section of windows called a clerestory. There are side aisles on the north and south, and a special five-sided area at the end called an apse. The church also has a porch on the south side and a chapel on the north side. This chapel acts like a side wing, known as a transept.
Outside the Church
The clerestory has two tall, narrow windows, called lancet windows, in each section. At the west end of the church, there is a large window with four parts, and above it, a round window. Along the walls of the aisles, each section has three windows shaped like a five-leaf clover, called cinquefoil windows. Stone supports called buttresses separate these sections. These supports have small pointed towers on top, known as pinnacles.
The transept has two lancet windows, with a four-leaf clover-shaped window above them. The apse also has lancet windows. Above the aisle walls, there are decorative stone railings with three-leaf clover designs, called trefoil parapets. Where the nave and the apse meet, there is a double bell tower, called a bellcote.
Inside the Church
Inside the church, the nave has a ceiling that looks like the inside of a covered wagon, known as a waggon roof. The apse has a ceiling that is curved like a tunnel, called a tunnel vault. The rows of arches, or arcades, inside the church are designed differently. One side has arches supported by round columns, while the other side has arches supported by groups of smaller columns.
The transept area is where the organ is located. The inside walls of the church are decorated with paintings. These include pictures of saints on the south wall of the apse. There are also patterns made with stencils on the ceilings of the aisles. The pulpit, where the preacher stands, is also very decorated. It has panels made of small colored pieces, called mosaic. There is also mosaic art in the reredos, which is a screen behind the altar.
The large window at the west end and the windows in the apse have beautiful stained glass. The stained glass in the apse was made by a company called Hardman & Co..
See also
- List of churches preserved by the Churches Conservation Trust in Northern England
