St. Mary the Virgin, Deane
Encyclopedia
The Church of St Mary the Virgin, Deane, is a Church of England
parish church
in Deane
, Bolton
, Greater Manchester
, England. It is a member of Deane deanery in the archdeaconry of Bolton, diocese of Manchester
. It is a Grade II* listed building.
on high ground above the Church Brook, the Saxon
Kirkbroke, which flows through Deane Clough to the River Croal. St Mary, or St Mariden was a chapel of ease
of St Mary in Eccles
before becoming the mother church of the ancient ecclesiastical parish of Deane which was formed from the northern part of the parish of Eccles and takes its name from Deane Clough, the narrow wooded valley close to the west of the church. The church originated as a 14th-century structure consisting of a nave and chancel with a steeply pitched roof and a western tower which has since been considerably enlarged and altered.
s to the chancel
, nave
, and aisles. It has three crocket
ed pinnacle
s at the east end. The windows have rounded uncusped heads to the lights and the clerestory has an almost continuous line of square-headed three-light windows. The chancel has a seven-light pointed east window. The chancel and nave are under a continuous flat-pitched oak panelled roof from1884 following the lines of the older structure.
In the early 15th century the church was extended by adding a new chancel and later widened by adding the north aisle. Sometime later the church was again extended by adding a third bay, and the south side rebuilt with three arches. The 14th-century nave was pulled down the in the early 16th century when a new nave arcade and the clerestory
were built. The chancel was extended by 10 feet (3 m) in 1884 and an organ chamber added in 1887.
Measured internally the chancel is 28 feet (8.5 m) long by 19 feet 6 inches wide and the nave 71 feet 6 inches by 20 feet 9 inches. The north aisle is 13 feet (4 m) wide, with an organ chamber at the east and vestry at the west end. The south aisle is 15 feet (4.6 m) wide with a south porch. The tower is 9 feet (2.7 m) square.
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
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 Deane
Deane, Greater Manchester
Deane is an area of Bolton, in Greater Manchester, England. It is about south west of Bolton and northwest of the city of Manchester.Historically a part of Lancashire, the Parish of Deane was once one of four parishes within the hundred of Salford and covered roughly half of the present...
, Bolton
Bolton
Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
, Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
, England. It is a member of Deane deanery in the archdeaconry of Bolton, diocese of Manchester
Anglican Diocese of Manchester
The Diocese of Manchester is a Church of England diocese in the Province of York, England. Based in the city of Manchester, the diocese covers much of the county of Greater Manchester and small areas of the counties of Lancashire and Cheshire.-History:...
. It is a Grade II* listed building.
History
The church of St Mary is situated in the old township of RumworthRumworth
Rumworth is an electoral ward of Bolton, in Greater Manchester, England. Historically it was part of the hundred of Salford in Lancashire and centre of the Parish of Deane which once covered roughly half of the present Metropolitan Borough of Bolton...
on high ground above the Church Brook, the Saxon
Old English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
Kirkbroke, which flows through Deane Clough to the River Croal. St Mary, or St Mariden was a chapel of ease
Chapel of ease
A chapel of ease is a church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently....
of St Mary in Eccles
Eccles, Greater Manchester
Eccles is a town in the City of Salford, a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in North West England, west of Salford and west of Manchester city centre...
before becoming the mother church of the ancient ecclesiastical parish of Deane which was formed from the northern part of the parish of Eccles and takes its name from Deane Clough, the narrow wooded valley close to the west of the church. The church originated as a 14th-century structure consisting of a nave and chancel with a steeply pitched roof and a western tower which has since been considerably enlarged and altered.
Structure
The oldest part of the church is the 14th century west tower which belonged to the older church on the site. The church is built of rough wall-stones with embattled parapetParapet
A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...
s to the 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...
, 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...
, and aisles. It has three 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 at the east end. The windows have rounded uncusped heads to the lights and the clerestory has an almost continuous line of square-headed three-light windows. The chancel has a seven-light pointed east window. The chancel and nave are under a continuous flat-pitched oak panelled roof from1884 following the lines of the older structure.
In the early 15th century the church was extended by adding a new chancel and later widened by adding the north aisle. Sometime later the church was again extended by adding a third bay, and the south side rebuilt with three arches. The 14th-century nave was pulled down the in the early 16th century when a new nave arcade and the 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...
were built. The chancel was extended by 10 feet (3 m) in 1884 and an organ chamber added in 1887.
Measured internally the chancel is 28 feet (8.5 m) long by 19 feet 6 inches wide and the nave 71 feet 6 inches by 20 feet 9 inches. The north aisle is 13 feet (4 m) wide, with an organ chamber at the east and vestry at the west end. The south aisle is 15 feet (4.6 m) wide with a south porch. The tower is 9 feet (2.7 m) square.