St George's Church, Heaviley
Encyclopedia
St George's Church, Heaviley, is located in Buxton Road, Heaviley, an area of Stockport
, Greater Manchester
, England. It is an active Anglican
parish church
in the deanery of Stockport, the archdeaconry of Macclesfield, and the diocese of Chester
. Its benefice is united with that of St Gabriel, Adswood. The church has been designated by English Heritage
as a Grade I listed building. The authors of the Buildings of England
series express the opinion that it is "by far the grandest church of Stockport", and state "St George is a church on a splendid scale". According to the visitors' guide to the church, the Rt Revd Geoffrey Fisher
, former Archbishop of Canterbury
, said that it is "the finest church built in England since the Reformation
".
on 25 February 1897. It was designed by Hubert Austin
of the Lancaster
architectural practice of Paley, Austin and Paley. The church forms part of a group of buildings, also including the vicarage and schools, that were paid for by George Fearn, a local brewer
.
red sandstone
. Its architectural style is Perpendicular, with "traces of Art Nouveau
". Its plan consists of a six-bay
nave
with a clerestory
, north and south aisle
s, north and south porches, a tower at the crossing
, and a chancel
and sanctuary with a Lady Chapel
to the north, an organ chamber to the south, and a vestry
to the southeast. The tower has an embattled
parapet
with corner pinnacle
s linked by flying buttress
es to the spire. At the east end, flanking the windows, are large buttress
es. The east and west windows have seven lights, and the windows along the sides of the nave have four lights. The church is 180 feet (55 m) long and 75 feet (23 m) wide, the tower is 112 feet (34 m) high, and with the spire raises to 236 feet (72 m).
is made from Derbyshire
alabaster
. It contains three carved panels, the central one depicting the Crucifixion
, and the others the Virgin Mary
and Saint John
. The font
is also of Derbyshire alabaster, and is carved with foliage. Both were carved by Robert Bridgeman of Lichfield
. The pulpit
contains six niches
containing the figures of Saint Paul, Saint Matthew, Saint Mark
, Saint Luke
, Saint John, and Saint Peter
. The lectern
consists of a brass eagle standing on a pedestal
supported by lions. The Lady Chapel is separated from the chancel by a carved oak screen, and contains a carved oak reredos including the figures of Saint John the Divine
and Saint John the Baptist
. There is stained glass only in the east and west windows, and in one window in the south aisle; it is all by Shrigley and Hunt
. The east window includes a depiction of Saint George and the Dragon
. The three-manual
organ was built in 1897 by Forster and Andrews
at a cost of £1,710 (£ as of ). It was rebuilt in 1936 by the John Compton Organ Company
. Further work was carried out on the organ in 1981 by Rushworth and Dreaper
. The organ case was designed by Austin. The ring
consists of ten bells, all of which were cast in 1896 by Mears and Stainbank at the Whitechapel Bell Foundry
.
d, crocket
ed canopy
. It has been listed at Grade II. The churchyard wall, its gate piers
, and the gate piers to the adjacent church school are also listed at Grade II. In addition, the vicarage to the church was listed in 1975 at Grade II. It was built in about 1920 in Arts and Crafts
style. It is constructed in red brick with red roof tiles, and has two storeys. It has since been described as being "ruinous".
Stockport
Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on elevated ground southeast of Manchester city centre, at the point where the rivers Goyt and Tame join and create the River Mersey. Stockport is the largest settlement in the metropolitan borough of the same name...
, 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 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 deanery of Stockport, the archdeaconry of Macclesfield, and 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...
. Its benefice is united with that of St Gabriel, Adswood. The church 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. 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 "by far the grandest church of Stockport", and state "St George is a church on a splendid scale". According to the visitors' guide to the church, the Rt Revd Geoffrey Fisher
Geoffrey Fisher
Geoffrey Francis Fisher, Baron Fisher of Lambeth, GCVO, PC was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1945 to 1961.-Background:...
, former Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
, said that it is "the finest church built in England since the Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
".
History
The foundation stone was laid in 1893, and the church was consecratedConsecration
Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious. The word "consecration" literally means "to associate with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups...
on 25 February 1897. It was designed by Hubert Austin
Hubert Austin
Hubert James Austin was an English architect who practiced in Lancaster. With his partners he designed many churches and other buildings, mainly in the northwest of England.-Early life and career:...
of the Lancaster
Lancaster, Lancashire
Lancaster is the county town of Lancashire, England. It is situated on the River Lune and has a population of 45,952. Lancaster is a constituent settlement of the wider City of Lancaster, local government district which has a population of 133,914 and encompasses several outlying towns, including...
architectural practice of Paley, Austin and Paley. The church forms part of a group of buildings, also including the vicarage and schools, that were paid for by George Fearn, a local brewer
Brewing
Brewing is the production of beer through steeping a starch source in water and then fermenting with yeast. Brewing has taken place since around the 6th millennium BCE, and archeological evidence suggests that this technique was used in ancient Egypt...
.
Exterior
The church is constructed in RuncornRuncorn
Runcorn is an industrial town and cargo port within the borough of Halton in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. In 2009, its population was estimated to be 61,500. The town is on the southern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form Runcorn Gap. Directly to the north...
red sandstone
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 architectural style is Perpendicular, with "traces of Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
". Its plan consists of a six-bay
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
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, north and south porches, a tower at the crossing
Crossing (architecture)
A crossing, in ecclesiastical architecture, is the junction of the four arms of a cruciform church.In a typically oriented church , the crossing gives access to the nave on the west, the transept arms on the north and south, and the choir on the east.The crossing is sometimes surmounted by a tower...
, 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...
and sanctuary with a 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...
to the north, an organ chamber to the south, and a vestry
Vestry
A vestry is a room in or attached to a church or synagogue in which the vestments, vessels, records, etc., are kept , and in which the clergy and choir robe or don their vestments for divine service....
to the southeast. The tower has an embattled
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...
parapet
Parapet
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...
with corner 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 linked by flying buttress
Flying buttress
A flying buttress is a specific form of buttressing most strongly associated with Gothic church architecture. The purpose of any buttress is to resist the lateral forces pushing a wall outwards by redirecting them to the ground...
es to the spire. At the east end, flanking the windows, are large buttress
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
es. The east and west windows have seven lights, and the windows along the sides of the nave have four lights. The church is 180 feet (55 m) long and 75 feet (23 m) wide, the tower is 112 feet (34 m) high, and with the spire raises to 236 feet (72 m).
Interior
The reredosReredos
thumb|300px|right|An altar and reredos from [[St. Josaphat's Roman Catholic Church|St. Josaphat Catholic Church]] in [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]]. This would be called a [[retable]] in many other languages and countries....
is made from Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
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...
. It contains three carved panels, the central one depicting the Crucifixion
Crucifixion of Jesus
The crucifixion of Jesus and his ensuing death is an event that occurred during the 1st century AD. Jesus, who Christians believe is the Son of God as well as the Messiah, was arrested, tried, and sentenced by Pontius Pilate to be scourged, and finally executed on a cross...
, and the others the Virgin Mary
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...
and Saint John
John the Evangelist
Saint John the Evangelist is the conventional name for the author of the Gospel of John...
. The font
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:...
is also of Derbyshire alabaster, and is carved with foliage. Both were carved by Robert Bridgeman of Lichfield
Lichfield
Lichfield is a cathedral city, civil parish and district in Staffordshire, England. One of eight civil parishes with city status in England, Lichfield is situated roughly north of Birmingham...
. The pulpit
Pulpit
Pulpit is a speakers' stand in a church. In many Christian churches, there are two speakers' stands at the front of the church. Typically, the one on the left is called the pulpit...
contains six niches
Niche (architecture)
A niche in classical architecture is an exedra or an apse that has been reduced in size, retaining the half-dome heading usual for an apse. Nero's Domus Aurea was the first semi-private dwelling that possessed rooms that were given richly varied floor plans, shaped with niches and exedras;...
containing the figures of Saint Paul, Saint Matthew, Saint Mark
Mark the Evangelist
Mark the Evangelist is the traditional author of the Gospel of Mark. He is one of the Seventy Disciples of Christ, and the founder of the Church of Alexandria, one of the original four main sees of Christianity....
, Saint Luke
Luke the Evangelist
Luke the Evangelist was an Early Christian writer whom Church Fathers such as Jerome and Eusebius said was the author of the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles...
, Saint John, and Saint Peter
Saint Peter
Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...
. The lectern
Lectern
A lectern is a reading desk with a slanted top, usually placed on a stand or affixed to some other form of support, on which documents or books are placed as support for reading aloud, as in a scripture reading, lecture, or sermon...
consists of a brass eagle standing on a pedestal
Pedestal
Pedestal is a term generally applied to the support of a statue or a vase....
supported by lions. The Lady Chapel is separated from the chancel by a carved oak screen, and contains a carved oak reredos including the figures of Saint John the Divine
John of Patmos
John of Patmos is the name given, in the Book of Revelation, as the author of the apocalyptic text that is traditionally cannonized in the New Testament...
and Saint John the Baptist
John the Baptist
John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
. There is stained glass only in the east and west windows, and in one window in the south aisle; it is all by Shrigley and Hunt
Shrigley and Hunt
Shrigley and Hunt was the name of an English firm which produced stained glass windows and art tiles.The business began in the 1750s when Shrigley's was a painting, carving and gilding firm in Lancaster, Lancashire....
. The east window includes a depiction of Saint George and the Dragon
Saint George and the Dragon
The episode of Saint George and the Dragon appended to the hagiography of Saint George was Eastern in origin, brought back with the Crusaders and retold with the courtly appurtenances belonging to the genre of Romance...
. The three-manual
Manual (music)
A manual is a keyboard designed to be played with the hands on a pipe organ, harpsichord, clavichord, electronic organ, or synthesizer. The term "manual" is used with regard to any hand keyboard on these instruments to distinguish it from the pedalboard, which is a keyboard that the organist plays...
organ was built in 1897 by Forster and Andrews
Forster and Andrews
Forster and Andrews was formed by James Alderson Forster and Joseph King Andrews , who had been employees of the London organ builder J. C. Bishop.They opened the business that bore their name in Hull in 1843...
at a cost of £1,710 (£ as of ). It was rebuilt in 1936 by the John Compton Organ Company
John Compton (organ builder)
John Compton , born in Newton Burgoland, Leicestershire, was a pipe organ builder. His business based in Nottingham and London flourished between 1902 and 1965.-Life:...
. Further work was carried out on the organ in 1981 by Rushworth and Dreaper
Rushworth and Dreaper
Rushworth and Dreaper was a firm of organ builders based in Liverpool, England Upon its bankruptcy, its archives were mostly destroyed, and the Victorian clock in the works tower was removed...
. The organ case was designed by Austin. 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...
consists of ten bells, all of which were cast in 1896 by Mears and Stainbank at the Whitechapel Bell Foundry
Whitechapel Bell Foundry
The Whitechapel Bell Foundry is a bell foundry in Whitechapel in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, in the East End of London. The foundry is listed by the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest manufacturing company in Great Britain...
.
External features
In the churchyard is a sandstone memorial to the First World War dating from about 1920. It includes panels inscribed with the names of 137 men, a tall cross, and a statue of Saint George standing under a gableGable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
d, 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 canopy
Canopy (building)
A canopy is an overhead roof or else a structure over which a fabric or metal covering is attached, able to provide shade or shelter. A canopy can also be a tent, generally without a floor....
. It has been listed at Grade II. The churchyard wall, its gate piers
Pier (architecture)
In architecture, a pier is an upright support for a superstructure, such as an arch or bridge. Sections of wall between openings function as piers. The simplest cross section of the pier is square, or rectangular, although other shapes are also common, such as the richly articulated piers of Donato...
, and the gate piers to the adjacent church school are also listed at Grade II. In addition, the vicarage to the church was listed in 1975 at Grade II. It was built in about 1920 in Arts and Crafts
Arts and Crafts movement
Arts and Crafts was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910 , continuing its influence until the 1930s...
style. It is constructed in red brick with red roof tiles, and has two storeys. It has since been described as being "ruinous".
See also
- List of churches in Greater Manchester
- Grade I listed buildings in Greater ManchesterGrade I listed buildings in Greater Manchester-See also:*Architecture of Manchester*Conservation in the United Kingdom*Grade II* listed buildings in Greater Manchester*List of tallest buildings in Manchester*Scheduled Monuments in Greater Manchester-Bibliography:...
- List of works by Paley, Austin and Paley