Wybunbury Tower is what remains of the building formerly known as St Chad's Church in the village of Wybunbury, Cheshire, England. The body of the original church has been demolished but the tower still stands. The tower is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.[1] The site of the tower is a Scheduled Monument.[2][3] The current St Chad's Church is located in a modern building on a different site in the village.
St Chad's Church, Wybunbury
Tower and lych gate of St Chad's Church, Wybunbury
The Domesday Book contains a reference to a priest in Wybunbury. The church was broken into in 1464, the cross was broken and valuables were stolen. The thieves were caught and hung. The tower was built in the 15th century on the site of the earlier church. By 1750 its foundations were observed to be settling and the tower was beginning to lean. In the early 1790s the church was repaired or rebuilt.[4] In 1833 the body of the church was demolished; James Trubshaw then straightened the tower by removing soil from the higher side and soaking the ground so that the tower settled back straight. He rebuilt the body of the church in a style loosely based on the previous building. This church was replaced in 1892–93 by a church designed by James Brooks, which in turn was demolished around 1976.[1] The tower was saved from demolition by a group of villagers who formed the Wybunbury Tower Preservation Trust.[5] The technique used by Trubshaw formed the basis of the method used in the 1990s to stabilise the Leaning Tower of Pisa.[6]
As at least five and possibly more churches on this site have become unsafe and been demolished due to ground movement; the replacement church was built in 1978 on a site elsewhere in the village and contains several items from previous churches.[7]
Architectureedit
Only the tower now remains and Richards considers that it is one of the finest towers in Cheshire.[4] It still leans to the north. It is built in sandstoneashlar with a lead roof.[1] The tower is square and has five stages. The west doorway is deeply recessed and immediately above it is a window of three lights. On each side of the door and of the window are niches containing statues, possibly of bishops, while over the window is a fifth niche containing a statue of the Trinity.[4] The fourth stage has a square wrought iron clock face. The fifth stage has two two-light belfry openings. The parapet is battlemented with crocketedpinnacles at the corners.[1] The tower contains a ring of six bells which were cast in 1791 by John Rudhall.[8]
^Thornber, Craig (5 April 2005), A Scrapbook of Cheshire Antiquities: Wybunbury, retrieved 22 October 2007
January 01, 1970
chad, church, wybunbury, wybunbury, tower, what, remains, building, formerly, known, chad, church, village, wybunbury, cheshire, england, body, original, church, been, demolished, tower, still, stands, tower, recorded, national, heritage, list, england, design. Wybunbury Tower is what remains of the building formerly known as St Chad s Church in the village of Wybunbury Cheshire England The body of the original church has been demolished but the tower still stands The tower is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building 1 The site of the tower is a Scheduled Monument 2 3 The current St Chad s Church is located in a modern building on a different site in the village St Chad s Church WybunburyTower and lych gate of St Chad s Church WybunburySt Chad s Church WybunburyLocation in Cheshire53 02 43 N 2 26 56 W 53 0452 N 2 4488 W 53 0452 2 4488OS grid referenceSJ 700 499LocationWybunbury CheshireCountryEnglandDenominationAnglicanArchitectureFunctional statusDemolished other than the towerHeritage designationGrade II Designated12 January 1967Architectural typeChurch towerStyleGothicSpecificationsMaterialsSandstone ashlarLead roof Contents 1 History 2 Architecture 3 Other features 4 See also 5 ReferencesHistory editThe Domesday Book contains a reference to a priest in Wybunbury The church was broken into in 1464 the cross was broken and valuables were stolen The thieves were caught and hung The tower was built in the 15th century on the site of the earlier church By 1750 its foundations were observed to be settling and the tower was beginning to lean In the early 1790s the church was repaired or rebuilt 4 In 1833 the body of the church was demolished James Trubshaw then straightened the tower by removing soil from the higher side and soaking the ground so that the tower settled back straight He rebuilt the body of the church in a style loosely based on the previous building This church was replaced in 1892 93 by a church designed by James Brooks which in turn was demolished around 1976 1 The tower was saved from demolition by a group of villagers who formed the Wybunbury Tower Preservation Trust 5 The technique used by Trubshaw formed the basis of the method used in the 1990s to stabilise the Leaning Tower of Pisa 6 As at least five and possibly more churches on this site have become unsafe and been demolished due to ground movement the replacement church was built in 1978 on a site elsewhere in the village and contains several items from previous churches 7 Architecture editOnly the tower now remains and Richards considers that it is one of the finest towers in Cheshire 4 It still leans to the north It is built in sandstone ashlar with a lead roof 1 The tower is square and has five stages The west doorway is deeply recessed and immediately above it is a window of three lights On each side of the door and of the window are niches containing statues possibly of bishops while over the window is a fifth niche containing a statue of the Trinity 4 The fourth stage has a square wrought iron clock face The fifth stage has two two light belfry openings The parapet is battlemented with crocketed pinnacles at the corners 1 The tower contains a ring of six bells which were cast in 1791 by John Rudhall 8 Other features editThe lych gate still stands and it serves as a war memorial 9 See also edit nbsp Cheshire portal Grade II listed buildings in Cheshire East Listed buildings in WybunburyReferences edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to St Chad s Church Wybunbury a b c d Historic England Tower of former Church of St Chad Wybunbury 1279389 National Heritage List for England retrieved 27 September 2011 Historic England Site of the church of St Chad Wybunbury 1017060 National Heritage List for England retrieved 27 September 2011 Pastscape St Chad s Church English Heritage retrieved 14 March 2011 a b c Richards Raymond 1947 Old Cheshire Churches London B T Batsford pp 373 376 OCLC 719918 Official Website Wybunbury Tower Trust retrieved 15 October 2018 Tower Information Wybunbury Tower Trust retrieved 15 October 2018 St Chad s Church Wybunbury Tower Dove s Guide for Church Bell Ringers retrieved 12 August 2008 Thornber Craig 5 April 2005 A Scrapbook of Cheshire Antiquities Wybunbury retrieved 22 October 2007 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title St Chad 27s Church Wybunbury amp oldid 1184987232, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
