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St Michael's Church, Shotwick

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Coordinates: 53°14′20″N 2°59′42″W / 53.2388°N 2.9951°W / 53.2388; -2.9951
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St Michael's Church, Shotwick
St Michael's Church seen from south-southeast
St Michael's Church, Shotwick is located in Cheshire
St Michael's Church, Shotwick
St Michael's Church, Shotwick
Location in Cheshire
53°14′20″N 2°59′42″W / 53.2388°N 2.9951°W / 53.2388; -2.9951
OS grid referenceSJ336717
LocationShotwick, Cheshire
CountryEngland
DenominationChurch of England
WebsiteSt Michael's Church Shotwick
History
StatusParish church
DedicationSt Michael
Architecture
Functional statusActive
Heritage designationGrade I
Designated1 June 1967
Architectural typeChurch
StyleNorman, Gothic
Specifications
MaterialsNew Red Sandstone
Roof of Welsh slate and tiles
Administration
ProvinceYork
DioceseChester
ArchdeaconryChester
DeaneryWirral South
ParishShotwick
Clergy
Vicar(s)Cathy Helm

St Michael's Church is the Church of England parish church of Shotwick, Cheshire, England. It a Grade I listed building.[1] It has a Norman doorway but most of the church is Gothic. Its furniture includes some ancient items. In the churchyard are several structures that are Grade II listed. The church is an active parish church in the Diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of Wirral South. Its benefice is combined with that of St Nicholas, Burton.[2]

History

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A church was in existence at the time of the Domesday Book and was largely rebuilt in the 14th century.[3] Restorations were carried out in 1851[1] and in the 1970s.[4] The parish registers date from 1698.[3]

Architecture

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Exterior

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The church is built of New Red Sandstone. The chancel and porch are roofed with Welsh slate and the rest of the roof is covered in purple tiles.[1] The south doorway is Norman, decorated with chevrons but rather obscured by a porch of later date.[3][5] The porch contains stone benches and on its walls are knife-sharpening slots.[1] The tower is Perpendicular in style,[3] and dates from around 1500.[5] The plan of the church consists of a tower at the west end in line with a nave of four bays and a chancel of three bays. There is a north aisle with a chapel at the west end extending as far as the chancel.[6]

Interior

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All the pews are box pews[1] and are the oldest in Wirral; at one time their doors were fitted with locks and keys.[3] In the north aisle is a canopied churchwardens' pew dated 1709 and a three-decker pulpit. The altar rails date from the late 17th or early 18th century and the lectern from the late 18th century.[3] It has been said that much of this wooden furniture was moved from a church in Chester in 1812.[6] Some of the windows contain 14th-century stained glass.[1][7] The brass chandelier dates from the late 18th century.[8]

The tower has a ring of six bells. William Clibury of Wellington, Shropshire, cast the tenor bell in 1616 and the fifth bell in 1621. John Taylor & Co of Loughborough cast the other four bells including the treble in 1938.[9]

  • Norman doorway
    Norman doorway
  • Box pews and churchwarden's pew
    Box pews and churchwarden's pew

External features

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In the churchyard the gates, gatepiers and churchyard wall along north side of Shotwick Lane are Grade II listed structures.[10] Also listed Grade II are the red sandstone sundial consisting of a tall bulbous baluster on square base dated 1720,[11] and the tombchests of James Phillips,[12] John Nevett Bennett,[13] Rev M. Reay and four children,[14] Robert and Martha Ellison,[15] William Briscoe (died 1704) and others,[16] and William Briscoe (died 1723) and others.[17] In the northwest part of the churchyard are the war graves of nine Royal Air Force officers of World War I.[18]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Historic England. "Church of St Michael (Grade I) (1145903)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
  2. ^ Archbishops' Council. "St Michael, Shotwick". A Church Near You. Church of England. Retrieved 26 September 2009.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Richards, Raymond (1947). Old Cheshire Churches. London: Batsford. pp. 296–303. OCLC 719918.
  4. ^ Thornber, Craig (2005). "Shotwick". A Scrapbook of Cheshire Antiquities. Retrieved 31 July 2007.
  5. ^ a b "St Michael, Shotwick, Cheshire". Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture in Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original on 30 July 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
  6. ^ a b Salter, Mark (1995). The Old Parish Churches of Cheshire. Malvern: Folly Publications. pp. 68–69. ISBN 1-871731-23-2.
  7. ^ "Shotwick, St Michael". Corpus Vitrearum Medii Aevi. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  8. ^ Hartwell, Clare; Hyde, Matthew; Hubbard, Edward; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2011) [1971]. Cheshire. The Buildings of England. New Haven, London: Yale University Press. p. 583. ISBN 978-0-300-17043-6.
  9. ^ Birks, Gordon (10 October 2010). "Shotwick S Michael". Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers. Central Council of Church Bell Ringers. Retrieved 11 August 2008.
  10. ^ Historic England. "Gates, gatepiers and churchyard wall along north side of Shotwick Lane (1130550)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
  11. ^ Historic England. "Sundial in the churchyard of St Michael (1145912)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
  12. ^ Historic England. "Tombchest of James Phillips, 2 metres south of the sundial in the Churchyard of St Michael (1130548)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
  13. ^ Historic England. "Tombchest of John Nevett Bennett, 5 metres west of south porch of St Michael's Church (1330309)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
  14. ^ Historic England. "Tombchest of Rev M Reay and 4 children, 8 metres south of south porch of Church of St Michael (1318880)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
  15. ^ Historic England. "Tombchest of Robert And Martha Ellison, 10 metres southwest of south corner of tower of Church of St Michael (1130549)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
  16. ^ Historic England. "Tombchest of William Briscoe (died 1704) and others, 5 metres southwest of priest's door to St Michael's Church (1145909)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
  17. ^ Historic England. "Tombchest of William Briscoe (died 1723) and others, 4 metres west of priest's door to St Michael's Church (1130547)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
  18. ^ "Shotwick (St. Michael) Churchyard". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 3 February 2013.

Further reading

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