bowdon - Cheshire County Council - Cheshire County Council ...

DIEECTORY.] CHESHIRE. CHESTER. 217bays with triforium, north and south aisles, southeasternchapel, crypt, north porch and a north-east towercontaining a clock and 8 beUs: the old tower, whichstood at the north-west angle of the structure, feU in1881, entirdy destroying the north porch; the latterwas lebuUt in 1882 and a new tower was erected in 1886at the north-east angle of the church: in 1887 the northwah of the church was strengthened with buttresses andentirdy replaced by the ist Duke of Westminster K.G.:the massive circular piUairs of the nave and crossing datefrom 1075 to 1095 : in the crypt are some fine pre-Normancrosses and in the north aisle is a glass case containing•objects of antiquity found at various periods in and aboutthe church: there are some handsomely-painted muralboards by Randle Holme, the herald and author; and themural monuments include one to CecU Warburton esq. d.1728; Diana Warburton, d. 1693, -with the figure ot askeleton finely carved in marble; to WUUam Falconer,recorder of the city of Chester, d. 1764; EUzabeth, hiswife, d, 1782, and thdr five children; and to the Rev,WUliam Eichardson, 53 years vicar of the parish, d. 1837,and others: there are also brasses to the Rev. WilliamBuxton Marsden, who was for 37 years vicar of the parish,1838-75; Meadows Frost, of Chester, d. 1&83; GeorgeBaxter, d. 1845; and Thomas Hughes esq, F.S.A, sheriffof Chester (1873-4), d, 1890: the stained west window,erected in i8go and designed by Mr, Edward Frampton,exhibits twelve subjects taken from historical incidentsin connection with the city of Chester, and was the gift ofthe ist Duke of Westminster : in the north aisle is the recumbentcross-legged effigj' of a knight in chain mailcovered with a surcoat: there are 821 sittings, ot which388 are free. The register dates from the year 1559, Thehving is a vicarage, yearly value ;^297, in the gift of theDuke of Westminster G.C.V.O. and held since 1875 bythe Bev. Canon Samuel Cooper Scott M.A. of TrinityCollege, Cambridge, hon. canon of Chester, rural deanand surrogate. The charities of the parish amount toabout ;^ioo, and are applied to the relief of thedeserving poor of the parish according to a new schemesanctioned in 1889.St, Barnabas' Mission church, in Sibell street, near theGeneral Railway station, built in 1877, at a cost of about£1,700, as a chapel of ease to the church of St, John theBaptist, is a small edifice of brick, consisting ot chancel,nave, north transept, and a turret containing one bell:there are 250 sittings. The Rev. John Phillips is curatein charge.St, Mary's church, or St. Mary's-on-the-HiU, as it ismore commonly called, stands on an eminence near theCastle; on the consecration of the new church of St.Mary--without-the-Walls, in 1887, the boundaries of theparish were altered, and the old church was included inthe parish of St. Bridget vrith St. Martin, and in 1891, bya faculty decreed in the Consistory Court, it was constitutedthe parish church of these united parishes; thechurch is an ancient edifice of red sandstone in thePerpendicular style, consisting of chancel with northand south chapels, clerestoried nave of three bays, aislesand a tower with pinnacles containing 8 bells, restoredand refitted, and augmented by the addition of 2 bellsfrom the church of St. Bridget: the aisles are separatedfrom the nave by low Tudor arches: in the north chapelare two altar tombs, one .of which, commemoratingThomas GamuU, recorder of Chester in 1613, and Alicehis wife, has recumbent effigies of both, and at thefeet of the lady is a kneeling figure of their infant son,afterwards the loyal Sir Francis GamuU kt. (1664);there are also figures of three infant daughters holdingskulls in their hands, and on the sides of the tombare two shields of arms: the other altar tomb, toPhiUp Oldfield esq. of BradwaU, ob. 1616, bears a halfrecumbenteffigy in marble, with two daughters kneelingat the head, in the costume of the period; figures of hisfour sons, each bearing a shield of arms, support the upperslab, and on the side of the tomb is a painted skeleton in asimUar attitude to the effigy above: in the north aisle is amural monument of considerable interest, ornamented vvith; heraldic devices, to four members of the Holme family,local antiquaries and heralds of repute; the third, Randle,was the author of the heraldic work, " The Academy ofArmory," pubUshed i683; of the numerous other muralmonuments and tablets, some have been removed herefrom the church of St. Bridget: the stained east -windowin the north chapel was erected in i860, by public subscription,to the 23rd Regiment (Boyal 'Welsh Fusiliers),espedally -with reference to its share in the campaign of'854-5; there are also seven other memorial -windows:the church has been restored at different times, and in1891 a sum of ;^4,30o was expended, of which one half wasgiven by the Mt Duke of Westminster, and the remaindercontributed by public subscription, the work being carriedout under the superintendence of the late Mr. J. P.Seddon, architect, of Westminster, and including the recasingof the north side, a new wood floor, the rebuUdingof part of one arcade and the clerestory; theremoval of the galleries, the restoration of the Troutbeckor Shrewsbury chapel, at the east end of the southaisle, and the construction of vestries at the west endof the same aisle: the porch was built at the cost ofthe Freemasons of the Provinces as a memorial toBandle Holme, at a cost of ;^225; the organ has alsobeen rebuilt at a cost of ;^300, and an oak organ casehas been since erected in memory of the late WilliamWarrington, for 13 years an officer of the church: thebeautiful nave roof, beUeved to have been brought fromBasingwerke Abbey, in Flintshire, in 1536, has beenrestored at a cost of nearly j^i.ioo; the elegant bosses,all of different design, being carefully preserved: thereare 561 sittings. The registers and plate belonging tothe old church were transferred in 1887 to the newchurch of St, Mary's-without-the-Walls, which becamethe parish church of the old parish of St. Mary-on-the-Hill. The register.* of St. Bridget's date from theyear 1649, and those of St. Martin's from 1680. Theliving, styled St. Bridget and St. Martin's, is a consolidatedrectory, neb yearly value £210, with 34 acresof glebe and residence, in the gift of the Bishop ofChester, and held since 1886 bv the Ven. Edward BarberM.A. of Magdalen College, Oxford, archdeacon, vicedean,and canon residentiary of Chester. On the southside of the churchyard is an ancient cross, which hasbeen restored. The charities of the united parishesamount to about ;^5o yearly, and in accordance with anew scheme, sanctioned in 1889, are applied to therelief of the desen'ing poor of both parishes.The church of St. Martin, at St. Martin's Ash, bniit in1721, is an edifice of brick, in mixed styles, consisting ofohancel, nave, aisles and a western tower containing 2bells: it was restored in i'882, at a cost of ^1,400, defrayedby Rolpert Roberts esq. of Upton, and is now usedfor Welsh services : there ere sittings for 200 persons.The church room, erected in iqoi, is used for Sundayschool' and other purposes. The Rev. William Parry-Williams, of St. David's College, Lampeter, has beencurate in charge since 1909.The church of St. Mary, Overleigh road, commonlycalled St. Mary's-without-the-Walls, and now the parishchurch of the old parish of St. Mary-on-the-HUl and alsothe garrison church, is a buUding of red sandstone in thePerpendicular style, erected during 1885-7, from plans byMr. F. B. Wade, architect, of Victoria street, London, ata total cost of about ;^i5,ooo, which, together with thesite, was the gift of the late Duke of Westminster K.G. ;it consists of chancel, clerestoried nave of five bays, aisles,north transept, north and south porches and a westerntower with spire, 180 feet in height, containing a clockand 8 bells: the fittings are of oak, ornamented withwrought iron: the windows of the clerestory and thoseof the aisles are stained: the reredos has a representationof the " Resurrection," by Mr. Clement Heaton, of London: the font and three stained windows in the baptisterywere given by the chUdren of the congregation in1887, and a memorial window has been erected at thewest end of the south aisle to Charles A. Frost, d. 1891,'son of Sir Thomas Gibbons Frost kt. several timesmayor of Chester: the sUver communion plate, formerlybelonging to the church of St. Mary-on-the-Hill, includesan EUzabethan chaUce, a flagon dated 1712, and twopatens dated respectively 1639 and 1683: there are 800sittings. The register, which is the old register of St,Mary-on-the-Hill, dates from the year 1628. The livmgis a rectory, net yearly value ;^225, with residence, inthe gift of the Duke of Westminster G.C.V.O. and heldsince 1882 by the Rev. Henry Grantham K.CL. surrogateand hon. minor canon of Chester Cathedral andgarrison chaplain. The charities for distribution to thepoor of the parish amount to about ^^24 yearly.St. Michael's church, in Bridge Street row, partiallyrebuUt in 1849, at a cost of ;^2,o88, under the directionof the late Mr. Thomas Harrison, architect, of Chester,is a building of stone in the Perpendicular style, consistingof chancel, nave of three bays, aisle, transeptand a western tower, with pinnacles, containing 6 bells:Thomas Falconer esq. A.M. the celebrated editor ofStrabo, a native of Chester, 1736, d. 4 Sept. 1792, wasburied here: there are 300 sittings, all free. The registerdates from the year 1560. The living, with St,Olave's chapelry annexed, is a vicarage, net yearly valueabout ;^22o, in the gift of the Bishop of Chester, andheld since 1908 by the Rev. WilUam Tweedie B.A. ofChrist's CoUege, Cambridge.St. Olave's, in Lower Bridge street, is a plain edificeof red sandstone, consisting of nave only, and has 150