St Peter's Church, Tabley
Encyclopedia
St Peter's Church, Tabley, is a chapel to the west of Tabley House
near Knutsford
, Cheshire
, England. It has been designated by English Heritage
as a Grade I listed building.
. The tower was added around 1720. In 1927 the chapel was moved to its present position because its foundations were being undermined by brine
-pumping.
over which is a gallery. The tower is in three stages. The lowest stage has a two-light window above which is a parapet
with stone baluster
s and ball finial
s. The next stage is recessed and has a diagonal clock faces on three sides. The belfry
stage above this has two-light louvred
openings with stone surrounds. At the top is another parapet with stone balusters and ball finials.
is octagonal and it has a sounding board
and an ancient hourglass
. The reredos
was painted by Lady Leighton and carved by Countess Bathurst, one of her aunts. One of the windows contains Flemish 17th-century stained glass, and another window dated 1895 was designed by Edward Burne-Jones
and made by Morris & Co.
In the ante-chapel is a war memorial to the tenants who died in the First World War which is made from panelling from the Old Hall. The organ was made in 1876 by Bryceson Brothers and Morten of London. The registers date from 1678 and contain records of the baptisms and weddings of the Leicester family and their tenants.
Tabley House
Tabley House is a former stately home in Tabley Inferior , some to the east of the town of Knutsford, Cheshire, England. The house has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building. It was built between 1761 and 1769 for Sir Peter Byrne Leicester, to replace an older...
near Knutsford
Knutsford
Knutsford is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, in North West England...
, Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, England. It 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.
History
The chapel was originally built on an island in the lower mere called The Moat in 1675–78 beside the former Tabley Hall (the Old Hall) by Sir Peter LeycesterSir Peter Leycester, 1st Baronet
Sir Peter Leycester, 1st Baronet was an English antiquarian and historian. He was involved in the English Civil War on the royalist side and was subsequently made a baronet...
. The tower was added around 1720. In 1927 the chapel was moved to its present position because its foundations were being undermined by brine
Brine
Brine is water, saturated or nearly saturated with salt .Brine is used to preserve vegetables, fruit, fish, and meat, in a process known as brining . Brine is also commonly used to age Halloumi and Feta cheeses, or for pickling foodstuffs, as a means of preserving them...
-pumping.
Structure
The chapel is joined to the house by a passage. It is built in brick with stone dressings and has a stone slate roof. The plan consists of a west tower and a three-bay nave with an ante-chapelAnte-chapel
Ante-chapel is the term given to that portion of a chapel which lies on the western side of the choir screen.In some of the colleges at Oxford and Cambridge the ante-chapel is carried north and south across the west end of the chapel, constituting a western transept or narthex...
over which is a gallery. The tower is in three stages. The lowest stage has a two-light window above which is a 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 stone baluster
Baluster
A baluster is a moulded shaft, square or of lathe-turned form, one of various forms of spindle in woodwork, made of stone or wood and sometimes of metal, standing on a unifying footing, and supporting the coping of a parapet or the handrail of a staircase. Multiplied in this way, they form a...
s and ball finial
Finial
The finial is an architectural device, typically carved in stone and employed decoratively to emphasize the apex of a gable or any of various distinctive ornaments at the top, end, or corner of a building or structure. Smaller finials can be used as a decorative ornament on the ends of curtain rods...
s. The next stage is recessed and has a diagonal clock faces on three sides. The belfry
Bell tower
A bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...
stage above this has two-light louvred
Louver
A louver or louvre , from the French l'ouvert; "the open one") is a window, blind or shutter with horizontal slats that are angled to admit light and air, but to keep out rain, direct sunshine, and noise...
openings with stone surrounds. At the top is another parapet with stone balusters and ball finials.
Fittings and furniture
The ceiling is coved. The interior of the chapel is panelled and the stalls are arranged down the sides. The pulpitPulpit
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...
is octagonal and it has a sounding board
Sounding board
A sound board, or soundboard, is the surface of a string instrument that the strings vibrate against, usually via some sort of bridge. The resonant properties of the sound board and the interior of the instrument greatly increase loudness over the string alone.The sound board operates by the...
and an ancient hourglass
Hourglass
An hourglass measures the passage of a few minutes or an hour of time. It has two connected vertical glass bulbs allowing a regulated trickle of material from the top to the bottom. Once the top bulb is empty, it can be inverted to begin timing again. The name hourglass comes from historically...
. The reredos
Reredos
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....
was painted by Lady Leighton and carved by Countess Bathurst, one of her aunts. One of the windows contains Flemish 17th-century stained glass, and another window dated 1895 was designed by Edward Burne-Jones
Edward Burne-Jones
Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1st Baronet was a British artist and designer closely associated with the later phase of the Pre-Raphaelite movement, who worked closely with William Morris on a wide range of decorative arts as a founding partner in Morris, Marshall, Faulkner, and Company...
and made by Morris & Co.
Morris & Co.
Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. and its successor Morris & Co. were furnishings and decorative arts manufacturers and retailers founded by the Pre-Raphaelite artist and designer William Morris...
In the ante-chapel is a war memorial to the tenants who died in the First World War which is made from panelling from the Old Hall. The organ was made in 1876 by Bryceson Brothers and Morten of London. The registers date from 1678 and contain records of the baptisms and weddings of the Leicester family and their tenants.