St Mary and All Saints Church, Great Budworth
Encyclopedia
St Mary and All Saints Church, Great Budworth, is in the centre of the village of Great Budworth
, Cheshire, England. It has been designated by English Heritage
as a Grade I listed building. It is an active Anglican
parish church
in the diocese of Chester
, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of Great Budworth. Clifton-Taylor
includes it in his list of 'best' English parish churches. Richards describes it as "one of the finest examples of ecclesiastical architecture remaining in Cheshire". The authors of the Buildings of England
series express the opinion that it is "one of the most satisfactory Perpendicular churches of Cheshire and its setting brings its qualities out to perfection".
there is a reference to a priest at Great Budworth. The church and its living were given to the Augustinian
canons
of Norton Priory
by William FitzNigel, Constable
of Chester and Baron of Halton
in 1130. Geoffrey de Dutton was an early benefactor of the church, as later were the Booths
of Twemlow. The oldest part of the present church, the Lady Chapel
, dates from the 14th century; the rest of the church from the 15th and 16th centuries. Rowland Egerton-Warburton
of Arley Hall
paid for a restoration
of the church in the 1850s.
It is an impressive church, built generally in the Perpendicular style although the long, and older north transept is constructed in the Decorated style. Built in red sandstone
, its plan consists of a west tower, a six-bay nave
with a clerestory
, north and south aisle
s, and a chancel
flanked by chapels to the north and south. The north transept
forms the Lady Chapel
and the shorter south transept is the Warburton Chapel. At the west end of the south aisle is the south porch. The entire church is crenellated
. On the north side of the tower is a sculpture of Saint Christopher
and on the south side one of the Blessed Virgin
. It has diagonal buttress
es and an octagonal south-west turret
, a Tudor-arched west window, small arched ringers' windows on the north, west and south faces, a clock on west face, and two-light belfry windows with stone louvre
s. Its top is crenellated with eight crocket
ed pinnacle
s.
The nave ceiling dates from the first quarter of the 16th century and is subdivided into 72 panels. In the Warburton Chapel are five oak stalls dating probably from the 13th century and considered to be the earliest in Cheshire. Two old chests are in the church, the older one being medieval and the other dated 1680. The octagonal font
dates from the 15th century. In the sanctuary are two Jacobean
chairs. The screen to the north transept is by Anthony Salvin
. The stained glass in the east window and in the east windows of both aisles is by Kempe
, and is dated between 1883 and 1901. In the north transept is Expressionist
glass by Fourmaintreaux dated 1965.
In the north chapel is a memorial to Sir Peter Leicester
, the 17th-century historian, and in the Warburton Chapel is the alabaster
effigy
of Sir John Warburton who died in 1575. In the north chapel is an organ which was designed by Samuel Renn
and installed in 1839. It is recognised by the British Institute of Organ Studies
as being an "Organ of Historic Importance". The organ was restored in 2004 at a cost of £60,000. The ring
is of eight bells, all cast by Rudhall of Gloucester
. Six of these are dated 1733, one is dated 1760 and the other 1822. The parish register
s begin in 1559 and the churchwarden
s' accounts date back to 1699.
to the churchyard was erected in 1920 as a war memorial to the First World War. It is oak-framed on a sandstone plinth
, with an oak crucifix
on the front gable. In the churchyard is a stone sundial
from the late 18th century consisting of a vase baluster on a round step sitting on a square flagstone base with a copper dial and gnomon
. Just outside the churchyard wall are stocks
probably dating from the early 18th century. All these structures are listed Grade II.
Great Budworth
Great Budworth is a civil parish and village, approximately north of Northwich, England, within the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire. It lies off the A559 road, east of Comberbach, northwest of Higher Marston and southeast of Budworth Heath...
, Cheshire, England. It has been designated by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
as a Grade I listed building. It is an active Anglican
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
in the diocese of Chester
Diocese of Chester
The Diocese of Chester is a Church of England diocese in the Province of York based in Chester, covering the county of Cheshire in its pre-1974 boundaries...
, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of Great Budworth. Clifton-Taylor
Alec Clifton-Taylor
Alec Clifton-Taylor OBE was an English architectural historian, writer and TV broadcaster.-Biography and works:...
includes it in his list of 'best' English parish churches. Richards describes it as "one of the finest examples of ecclesiastical architecture remaining in Cheshire". The authors of the Buildings of England
Pevsner Architectural Guides
The Pevsner Architectural Guides are a series of guide books to the architecture of the British Isles. Begun in the 1940s by art historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, the 46 volumes of the Buildings of England series were published between 1951 and 1975. The series was then extended to Scotland and...
series express the opinion that it is "one of the most satisfactory Perpendicular churches of Cheshire and its setting brings its qualities out to perfection".
History
In the Domesday BookDomesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
there is a reference to a priest at Great Budworth. The church and its living were given to the Augustinian
Augustinians
The term Augustinians, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo , applies to two separate and unrelated types of Catholic religious orders:...
canons
Canon (priest)
A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....
of Norton Priory
Norton Priory
Norton Priory is a historic site in Norton, Runcorn, Cheshire, England, comprising the remains of an abbey complex dating from the 12th to 16th centuries, and an 18th-century country house; it is now a museum. The remains are a scheduled ancient monument and have been designated by English...
by William FitzNigel, Constable
Constable
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions.-Etymology:...
of Chester and Baron of Halton
Barony of Halton
The Barony of Halton, in Cheshire, England, comprised a succession of 15 barons who held under the overlordship of the County Palatine of Chester ruled by the Earl of Chester. It was not therefore an English feudal barony which was under full royal jurisdiction, which is the usual sense of the...
in 1130. Geoffrey de Dutton was an early benefactor of the church, as later were the Booths
Booth Baronets
There have been three Baronetcies created for persons with the surname Booth, one in the Baronetage of England and one in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. One creation is extant as of 2010...
of Twemlow. The oldest part of the present church, the Lady Chapel
Lady chapel
A Lady chapel, also called Mary chapel or Marian chapel, is a traditional English term for a chapel inside a cathedral, basilica, or large church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary...
, dates from the 14th century; the rest of the church from the 15th and 16th centuries. Rowland Egerton-Warburton
Rowland Egerton-Warburton
Rowland Eyles Egerton-Warburton was a landowner in Cheshire, England. He was a devout Anglican in the high church tradition and a local benefactor. He paid for the restoration of his parish church and for the building of two new churches in villages on his estates...
of Arley Hall
Arley Hall
Arley Hall is a country house in the village of Arley, Cheshire, England, about south of Lymm and north of Northwich. It is home to the owner, Viscount Ashbrook and his family. The house is a Grade II* listed building, as is its adjacent chapel. Formal gardens to the southwest of the hall...
paid for a restoration
Victorian restoration
Victorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...
of the church in the 1850s.
Exterior
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
, its plan consists of a west tower, a six-bay nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
with a clerestory
Clerestory
Clerestory is an architectural term that historically denoted an upper level of a Roman basilica or of the nave of a Romanesque or Gothic church, the walls of which rise above the rooflines of the lower aisles and are pierced with windows. In modern usage, clerestory refers to any high windows...
, north and south aisle
Aisle
An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of seats on both sides or with rows of seats on one side and a wall on the other...
s, and a chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
flanked by chapels to the north and south. The north transept
Transept
For the periodical go to The Transept.A transept is a transverse section, of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In Christian churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture...
forms the Lady Chapel
Lady chapel
A Lady chapel, also called Mary chapel or Marian chapel, is a traditional English term for a chapel inside a cathedral, basilica, or large church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary...
and the shorter south transept is the Warburton Chapel. At the west end of the south aisle is the south porch. The entire church is crenellated
Battlement
A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet , in which portions have been cut out at intervals to allow the discharge of arrows or other missiles. These cut-out portions form crenels...
. On the north side of the tower is a sculpture of Saint Christopher
Saint Christopher
.Saint Christopher is a saint venerated by Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians, listed as a martyr killed in the reign of the 3rd century Roman Emperor Decius or alternatively under the Roman Emperor Maximinus II Dacian...
and on the south side one of the Blessed Virgin
Mary (mother of Jesus)
Mary , commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of God", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee...
. It has diagonal buttress
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
es and an octagonal south-west turret
Turret
In architecture, a turret is a small tower that projects vertically from the wall of a building such as a medieval castle. Turrets were used to provide a projecting defensive position allowing covering fire to the adjacent wall in the days of military fortification...
, a Tudor-arched west window, small arched ringers' windows on the north, west and south faces, a clock on west face, and two-light belfry windows with stone louvre
Louvre
The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
s. Its top is crenellated with eight crocket
Crocket
A crocket is a hook-shaped decorative element common in Gothic architecture. It is in the form of a stylised carving of curled leaves, buds or flowers which is used at regular intervals to decorate the sloping edges of spires, finials, pinnacles, and wimpergs....
ed pinnacle
Pinnacle
A pinnacle is an architectural ornament originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire...
s.
Interior
Baptismal font
A baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.-Aspersion and affusion fonts:...
dates from the 15th century. In the sanctuary are two Jacobean
Jacobean era
The Jacobean era refers to the period in English and Scottish history that coincides with the reign of King James VI of Scotland, who also inherited the crown of England in 1603 as James I...
chairs. The screen to the north transept is by Anthony Salvin
Anthony Salvin
Anthony Salvin was an English architect. He gained a reputation as an expert on medieval buildings and applied this expertise to his new buildings and his restorations...
. The stained glass in the east window and in the east windows of both aisles is by Kempe
Charles Eamer Kempe
Charles Eamer Kempe was a well-known Victorian stained glass designer. After attending Twyford School, he studied for the priesthood at Pembroke College, Oxford, but it became clear that his severe stammer would be an impediment to preaching...
, and is dated between 1883 and 1901. In the north transept is Expressionist
Expressionism
Expressionism was a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas...
glass by Fourmaintreaux dated 1965.
In the north chapel is a memorial to Sir Peter Leicester
Sir Peter Leycester, 1st Baronet
Sir Peter Leycester, 1st Baronet was an English antiquarian and historian. He was involved in the English Civil War on the royalist side and was subsequently made a baronet...
, the 17th-century historian, and in the Warburton Chapel is the alabaster
Alabaster
Alabaster is a name applied to varieties of two distinct minerals, when used as a material: gypsum and calcite . The former is the alabaster of the present day; generally, the latter is the alabaster of the ancients...
effigy
Effigy
An effigy is a representation of a person, especially in the form of sculpture or some other three-dimensional form.The term is usually associated with full-length figures of a deceased person depicted in stone or wood on church monuments. These most often lie supine with hands together in prayer,...
of Sir John Warburton who died in 1575. In the north chapel is an organ which was designed by Samuel Renn
Samuel Renn
Samuel Renn was an English organ builder who ran a business in Stockport, and later he traded in Manchester.Renn was born in Kedleston, Derbyshire and in 1799 was apprenticed to his uncle, James Davis, an organ builder in London. Renn became his foreman and supervised organ installations and...
and installed in 1839. It is recognised by the British Institute of Organ Studies
British Institute of Organ Studies
-Aims:The aims of BIOS are* To promote objective, scholarly research into the history of the organ and its music in all its aspects, and, in particular, into the organ and its music in Britain....
as being an "Organ of Historic Importance". The organ was restored in 2004 at a cost of £60,000. The ring
Ring of bells
"Ring of bells" is a term most often applied to a set of bells hung in the English style, typically for change ringing...
is of eight bells, all cast by Rudhall of Gloucester
Rudhall of Gloucester
Rudhall of Gloucester was a family business of bell founders in the city of Gloucester, England, who between 1684 and 1835 produced over 5,000 bells. The business was founded by Abraham Rudhall and the earliest ring of bells he cast was for St Nicholas' Church, Oddington in 1684. He came to be...
. Six of these are dated 1733, one is dated 1760 and the other 1822. The parish register
Parish register
A parish register is a handwritten volume, normally kept in a parish church or deposited within a county record office or alternative archive repository, in which details of baptisms, marriages and burials are recorded.-History:...
s begin in 1559 and the churchwarden
Churchwarden
A churchwarden is a lay official in a parish church or congregation of the Anglican Communion, usually working as a part-time volunteer. Holders of these positions are ex officio members of the parish board, usually called a vestry, parish council, parochial church council, or in the case of a...
s' accounts date back to 1699.
External features
The churchyard wall of sandstone and brick dates partly from the late medieval period with additions made in the 18th and 19th centuries. It incorporates a water trough. The lychgateLychgate
A lychgate, also spelled lichgate, lycugate, or as two separate words lych gate, is a gateway covered with a roof found at the entrance to a traditional English or English-style churchyard.-Name:...
to the churchyard was erected in 1920 as a war memorial to the First World War. It is oak-framed on a sandstone plinth
Plinth
In architecture, a plinth is the base or platform upon which a column, pedestal, statue, monument or structure rests. Gottfried Semper's The Four Elements of Architecture posited that the plinth, the hearth, the roof, and the wall make up all of architectural theory. The plinth usually rests...
, with an oak crucifix
Crucifix
A crucifix is an independent image of Jesus on the cross with a representation of Jesus' body, referred to in English as the corpus , as distinct from a cross with no body....
on the front gable. In the churchyard is a stone sundial
Sundial
A sundial is a device that measures time by the position of the Sun. In common designs such as the horizontal sundial, the sun casts a shadow from its style onto a surface marked with lines indicating the hours of the day. The style is the time-telling edge of the gnomon, often a thin rod or a...
from the late 18th century consisting of a vase baluster on a round step sitting on a square flagstone base with a copper dial and gnomon
Gnomon
The gnomon is the part of a sundial that casts the shadow. Gnomon is an ancient Greek word meaning "indicator", "one who discerns," or "that which reveals."It has come to be used for a variety of purposes in mathematics and other fields....
. Just outside the churchyard wall are stocks
Stocks
Stocks are devices used in the medieval and colonial American times as a form of physical punishment involving public humiliation. The stocks partially immobilized its victims and they were often exposed in a public place such as the site of a market to the scorn of those who passed by...
probably dating from the early 18th century. All these structures are listed Grade II.
See also
- Grade I listed buildings in CheshireGrade I listed buildings in CheshireThe Grade I listed buildings in Cheshire, excluding those in the city of Chester, total around 80, almost half of which are churches.Most Cheshire buildings are in sandstone, brick or are timber framed. The churches are mainly built in stone, while the domestic buildings are mainly in brick. ...
- List of church restorations, amendments and furniture by John Douglas