St Werburgh’s Church, Warburton

St Werburgh is the name given to two separate Anglican churches in the village of Warburton, Greater Manchester.^[a]Warburton was historically in Cheshire, and St Werburgh is the patron saint of Chester, the capital city of the county.^[1] The older church to the west of the village, now redundant, dates from the 12th century, and is a designated Grade I listed buildingStructure of particular architectural and/or historic interest deserving of special protection..^[2] One of only 27 remaining timber-framed churches in England,^[3] the authors of the Buildings of England series have called it “a lovable muddle”.^[4]

Despite the old church being redundant, services are still held there during the summer months, and the Churches Conservation Trust organises various events through the year.^[5]

The newer church, to the southeast of the village, was built in 1883–1885, and is a Grade II listed building.^[6] It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Macclesfield and the deanery of Bowdon. It is one of two churches in the beneficeOriginally used in feudal societies to describe a grant of land as a reward for services rendered. In modern usage it refers to a collection of parishes working together under a single incumbent. of Oughtrington and Warburton, along with St Peter, Oughtrington.^[7]

Old church

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History

There is evidence of a Saxon church on the site of the present-day Old Church, pre-dating the Norman Conquest,^[8] but no trace of it remains above ground. In the late 12th century a short-lived priory for Premonstratensian (Norbertine) was founded on the site.^[9]

A dendrochronological assessment carried out in 1999 revealed that the church underwent at least six phases of development. The first, in the 12th century,^[3] possibly included material from the earlier priory,^[10] but the church was mostly reconstructed in the second quarter of the 17th century.^[2]

The church passed into the care of the Redundant Churches Fund, the predecessor of the Churches Conservation Trust, in 1971.^[2]

Architecture

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Exterior

The church is built around a timber frame and some timber framing with wattle and daub infilling is retained in the north wall. The rest of the north wall and the south and west walls are built in sandstone. The chancel, south transept and vestry are brick, as is the tower at the east end. It is roofed in Kerridge stone slabs. The roof of the chancelPart of a church containing the altar, used by the officiating clergy. is 3 ft (1 m) lower than that of the naveCentral part of a church, used by the laiety..^[8] The tower has a pairs of semicircular-headed belfryStructure in which bells are hung.Structure in which bells are hung. windows on each face, a stone cornice and six sugar loaf pinnacles.^[2]

Interior

The chancel is surrounded on three sides by a wooden half-screen. This screen, the altar table and the pulpit date from the 17th century,^[11] and the pews date from 1813. The font is octagonal, its base 1603 and its pyramidal cover 1595. A stone sarcophagus in the church may date from the early 12th century. The single bell is dated 1575. Parish registers start in 1611 but are complete only from 1634.^[8] The stained glass in the east window is by Wailes, and the sanctuary floor has Minton tiles; both date from 1857.^[2]

New church

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The new church was built between 1883 and 1885 to a design by the Chester architect John Douglas, for Rowland Egerton-Warburton. It is built in red sandstone with a tile roof. The plan consists of a four-bay nave with a north aisle, a south porch, a three-bay chancel and a northeast tower. The tower is in three stages with diagonal buttresses. It has two two-light belfryStructure in which bells are hung.Structure in which bells are hung. openings in each face, castellations and corner pinnacles with crockets. It contains a font cover dated 1595, and an oak chest which was removed from the old church.^[6] There is a ring of eight bells cast in 1884 by John Taylor & Co.^[12]