St_Barnabas'_Church,_Bromborough

St Barnabas' Church, Bromborough

St Barnabas' Church, Bromborough

Church in Merseyside, England

St Barnabas' Church is in the town of Bromborough, Wirral, Merseyside, England. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building,[1] and stands within the boundary of the Bromborough Village Conservation Area.[2] It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of Wirral South.[3] The authors of the Buildings of England series describe it a "handsome church for a village-gone-prosperous".[4] It is considered to be a well-designed example of the work of Sir George Gilbert Scott.[1] In the churchyard are three Anglo-Saxon carved stones which have been reconstructed to form a cross.

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History

The first church on the site was built in 928 adjacent to a monastery which had been founded in 912, probably by Ethelfleda. This church was demolished in 1828 and replaced on the same site by another church.[5] This church was again replaced by the present church. It was built on a big scale between 1862 and 1864 to serve the residents of new large houses which had recently been built in the town. The architect was Sir George Gilbert Scott.[4]

Architecture

Exterior

The church is built from local red Triassic sandstone[6] with a slate roof. Its plan consists of a nave with clerestory, north and south aisles under lean-to roofs, a chancel with a semicircular apse, a south vestry and a northeast tower with a broach spire. It is built in Early English style.[1]

Interior

The sanctuary contains trefoil blind arcading. The reredos is a sculpted relief depicting The Last Supper. The font and pulpit are octagonal. The wooden screens and stalls are dated 1900. Most of the stained glass is by Clayton and Bell.[1] The east window is by Ballantyne and Son.[4] The three-manual organ was built around 1923 by Rushworth and Dreaper of Liverpool.[7] There is a ring of eight bells, which are all dated 1880 by John Taylor and Company.[8]

External features

Cross

In the churchyard are three stone fragments dating possibly from the 10th century which have been re-erected in the form of a Celtic cross.[9] The re-erection was carried out in 1958 by the Bromborough Society. It is listed at Grade II.[10]

Sundial

Also in the churchyard and listed at Grade II is a stone sundial dated 1730 which is possibly constructed from a 15th-century cross. It consists of two square steps on a base, a tapered shaft and a square cap.[11]

There are four war graves of service personnel, one of World War I and four of World War II.[12]

See also

References

  1. [1]
    Historic England, "Church of St Barnabas, Bebington (1183871)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 4 February 2013
  2. [2]
    Bromborough Village Conservation Area, Wirral Council, retrieved 12 May 2011
  3. [3]
    St Barnabas, Bromborough, Church of England, retrieved 12 May 2011
  4. [4]
    Hartwell, Claire; Hyde, Matthew; Hubbard, Edward; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2011) [1971], Cheshire, The Buildings of England, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, p. 186, ISBN 978-0-300-17043-6
  5. [5]
    Bromborough St Barnabas, The Open Churches Trust, retrieved 12 January 2008
  6. [6]
    "5.4.4,5.4.9". Bromborough Village Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan - Part 1. Chester: Donald Insall Associates Ltd. 2009.
  7. [7]
    Bromborough St. Barnabas, British Institute of Organ Studies, retrieved 13 August 2008
  8. [8]
    Bromborough S Barnabas, Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers, retrieved 13 August 2008
  9. [9]
    St Barnabas (Bromborough), The Megalithic Portal, retrieved 12 January 2008
  10. [10]
    Historic England, "Cross to right of porch of St Barnabas Church, Bebington (1343465)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 4 February 2013
  11. [11]
    Historic England, "Sundial approximately 17 metres to north of St Barnabas Church, Bebington (1343486)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 4 February 2013
  12. [12]
    BROMBOROUGH (ST. BARNABAS) CHURCHYARD, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, retrieved 4 February 2013
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