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St Helen's Church, Churchtown

January 01, 1970

St Helen's Church is an Anglican church in the village of Churchtown in Lancashire, England. Historically, it was the parish church of Garstang; today, as Garstang is split into more than one ecclesiastical parish, St Helen's parish is Garstang St Helen (Churchtown). It is in the Diocese of Blackburn. It has been designated a Grade I listed building by English Heritage. St Helen's is known as the "cathedral of The Fylde".[1]

St Helen's, Churchtown
St. Helen's Church in 2009
St Helen's, Churchtown
Location in the Borough of Wyre
53°52′44″N 2°47′24″W / 53.8788°N 2.7900°W / 53.8788; -2.7900
OS grid referenceSD 4816242798
LocationChurchtown, Lancashire
DenominationAnglican
Websitesthelens-stmichaels.org.uk
History
DedicationSt Helen
Architecture
Functional statusActive
Heritage designationGrade I
Designated17 April 1967 (1967-04-17)
Specifications
Height62 feet (19 m)
Administration
ProvinceYork
DioceseBlackburn
ArchdeaconryBlackburn
DeaneryGarstang
ParishGarstang St Helen
Clergy
Vicar(s)Rev Andrew Wilkinson
AssistantRev Constance Whalley

History edit

St Helen's is situated close to the banks of the River Wyre.[2] Historically, the village of Churchtown (once known as Kirkland) was part of the ecclesiastical parish of Garstang, with St Helen's as the parish church.[2] The oldest parts of the church date from the 13th century, these are the piers and responds in the chancel, and the arch piers in the nave.[2] The church was rebuilt in the 15th and 16th centuries.[2] In 1736, an overflow of the River Wyre flooded the churchyard and damaged the church, necessitating its restoration.[2] In 1811 the roofs were replaced, the walls were raised and a clerestory added.[3] Further restoration work took place in 1866–1869 by E. G. Paley at a cost of £1,372 (equivalent to £160,000 in 2023).[4][5]

Assessment and administration edit

It was designated a Grade I listed building by English Heritage on 17 April 1967.[6] The Grade I designation—the highest of the three grades—is for buildings "of exceptional interest, sometimes considered to be internationally important".[7]

An active church in the Church of England, St Helen's is part of the Diocese of Blackburn, which is in the Province of York. It is in the archdeaconry of Blackburn and the Deanery of Garstang. In shares a benefice with St Michael's Church in St Michael's on Wyre. The official name of the parish is Garstang St Helen (Churchtown).[8] St Helen's is known as the "cathedral of The Fylde".[1][9]

Architecture edit

Exterior edit

 
St Helen's from the north west

St Helen's is constructed in the Perpendicular style of rubble with ashlar dressings.[2][3] Its plan consists of a clerestoried nave with aisles to the north and south, a chapel and porch to the south, a tower to the west, and a chancel, which has north and south aisles and a north vestry.[2] The roofs are low-pitched.[2] The chapel and aisles have a plain ashlar parapet.[2]

The west tower has six stages.[2] It has angled buttresses on the west side and a crenellated parapet.[6] There is a turret on its north-east corner, which has a spire.[3] The belfry louvres have trefoiled two-light openings with square heads.[3] There is also a small, square window at the level of the bell-ringing chamber.[2] The north wall of the tower has a clock.[2]

Interior and fittings edit

Internally, the tower measures 11 feet (3.4 m) square.[2] It is entered from the nave through an arch of two hollow chamfered orders.[2] The nave measures 55 feet 6 inches (16.92 m) by 21 feet 9 inches (6.63 m).[2] It is separated from the north and south aisles by five-bay arcades, with pointed arches and round piers.[3][6] There is a recumbent effigy in the nave to Alexander Butler (d. 1726).[3] The Lady chapel south of the south aisle, endowed by Lady Rigmayden of Wedacre in 1529, is accessed through two pointed arches.[6] It was founded by Margaret Rigmaiden (d. 1516) of Wedacre.[1] The chapel contains a piscina (basin), which has a cusped head.[3] On the wall there is an inscription in Latin warning of "idle chatter in church".[3]

The chancel measures 36 feet 9 inches (11.20 m) by 19 feet 3 inches (5.87 m).[2] The pointed chancel arch separating the chancel from the nave is in the Decorated style; it has two orders with wave moulding.[2][3] The vestry at the north-east corner of the building is mostly constructed of dressed stone, which contrasts with the rubble of the rest of the church.[1]

The stained glass in the church dates mostly from the 19th century. It includes work by Ward and Hughes, William Wailes and Heaton, Butler and Bayne.[3] The tower houses a ring of six bells hung in a wooden frame, that are rung from the ground floor.[10] They were cast in 1828 by Thomas Mears at the Whitechapel Bell Foundry in London.[11]

Churchyard edit

 
The east end of the church, showing the vestry (1570)

The churchyard is mostly to the north and south sides of the church.[2] It contains several sandstone headstones that have received a Grade II designation from English Heritage. They date mostly from the 18th century.[nb 1] There is a sundial that dates from 1757.[2] South of the church there is the chamfered shaft of a sandstone cross, probably dating from the Middle Ages. North-east of the church is a stone cross. The base is from the Middle Ages, but the shaft and octagonal steps were replaced in the 1930s. The whole cross and the incomplete cross shaft have also been given Grade II listings.[21][22]

See also edit

References edit

Notes
  1. ^ For details of the English Heritage listings for the churchyard's headstones, see [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]
Footnotes
  1. ^ a b c d Bilsborough, p. 56
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Farrer & Brownbill (1912), pp. 291–300
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Hartwell & Pevsner (2009), pp. 358–59
  4. ^ UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  5. ^ Brandwood et al. 2012, p. 222.
  6. ^ a b c d Historic England, "Church of St Helen (1072874)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 18 June 2011
  7. ^ "Listed Buildings", National Heritage List for England, English Heritage, retrieved 18 June 2011
  8. ^ "Church Details: Garstang St Helen (Churchtown)", blackburn.anglican.org, Diocese of Blackburn, retrieved 4 May 2011
  9. ^ "History of Wyre — Churchtown", wyrebc.gov.uk, Wyre Borough Council, retrieved 18 June 2011
  10. ^ Cheetham (1919), pp. 46–47
  11. ^ "Garstang, Churchtown — S Helen", Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers, 28 March 2007, retrieved 18 June 2011
  12. ^ Historic England, "Group of 2 Headstones Against East Wall of Vestry of Church of St. Helen (1072877)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 18 June 2011
  13. ^ Historic England, "Group of 6 Headstones Against South Wall of South Chapel of Church of St. Helen (1163703)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 18 June 2011
  14. ^ Historic England, "Headstone Against East Wall of South Chapel of Church of St. Helen (1072878)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 18 June 2011
  15. ^ Historic England, "Headstone East of Vestry of Church of St. Helen (1163704)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 18 June 2011
  16. ^ Historic England, "Headstone North-east of Vestry of Church of St. Helen (1072879)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 18 June 2011
  17. ^ Historic England, "Headstone North-east of Vestry of Church of St. Helen (1163772)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 18 June 2011
  18. ^ Historic England, "Headstone North of Vestry of Church of St. Helen (1072880)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 18 June 2011
  19. ^ Historic England, "Headstone North of Church of St. Helen (1361958)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 18 June 2011
  20. ^ Historic England, "Group of 8 Headstones North of Church of St. Helen (1318085)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 18 June 2011
  21. ^ Historic England, "Cross Shaft South of Church of St. Helen (1318124)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 19 June 2011
  22. ^ Historic England, "Cross North-East of Church of St. Helen (1072876)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 19 June 2011
Bibliography
  • Bilsborough, Norman (1989), The Treasures of Lancashire, North West Civic Trust, ISBN 0-901347-41-8
  • Brandwood, Geoff; Austin, Tim; Hughes, John; Price, James (2012), The Architecture of Sharpe, Paley and Austin, Swindon: English Heritage, ISBN 978-1-84802-049-8
  • Cheetham, F. H. (1919), The Church Bells of Lancashire [Part 4: The Hundred of Amounderness], Sherratt & Hughes, OCLC 27475286
  • Farrer, William; Brownbill, J., eds. (1912), "The Parish of Garstang", A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 7, retrieved 8 October 2010
  • Hartwell, Clare; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2009) [1969], Lancashire: North, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, ISBN 0-300-12667-0

External links edit

  •   Media related to St Helen's Church, Churchtown at Wikimedia Commons
  • "St Helen, Churchtown" at genuki.org.uk
  • "St Helen's - Catherdral of the Fylde, Garstang" at achurchnearyou.com

January 01, 1970
helen, church, churchtown, helen, church, anglican, church, village, churchtown, lancashire, england, historically, parish, church, garstang, today, garstang, split, into, more, than, ecclesiastical, parish, helen, parish, garstang, helen, churchtown, diocese,. St Helen s Church is an Anglican church in the village of Churchtown in Lancashire England Historically it was the parish church of Garstang today as Garstang is split into more than one ecclesiastical parish St Helen s parish is Garstang St Helen Churchtown It is in the Diocese of Blackburn It has been designated a Grade I listed building by English Heritage St Helen s is known as the cathedral of The Fylde 1 St Helen s ChurchtownSt Helen s Church in 2009St Helen s ChurchtownLocation in the Borough of Wyre53 52 44 N 2 47 24 W 53 8788 N 2 7900 W 53 8788 2 7900OS grid referenceSD 4816242798LocationChurchtown LancashireDenominationAnglicanWebsitesthelens stmichaels wbr org wbr ukHistoryDedicationSt HelenArchitectureFunctional statusActiveHeritage designationGrade IDesignated17 April 1967 1967 04 17 SpecificationsHeight62 feet 19 m AdministrationProvinceYorkDioceseBlackburnArchdeaconryBlackburnDeaneryGarstangParishGarstang St HelenClergyVicar s Rev Andrew WilkinsonAssistantRev Constance Whalley Contents 1 History 2 Assessment and administration 3 Architecture 3 1 Exterior 3 2 Interior and fittings 4 Churchyard 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksHistory editSt Helen s is situated close to the banks of the River Wyre 2 Historically the village of Churchtown once known as Kirkland was part of the ecclesiastical parish of Garstang with St Helen s as the parish church 2 The oldest parts of the church date from the 13th century these are the piers and responds in the chancel and the arch piers in the nave 2 The church was rebuilt in the 15th and 16th centuries 2 In 1736 an overflow of the River Wyre flooded the churchyard and damaged the church necessitating its restoration 2 In 1811 the roofs were replaced the walls were raised and a clerestory added 3 Further restoration work took place in 1866 1869 by E G Paley at a cost of 1 372 equivalent to 160 000 in 2023 4 5 Assessment and administration editIt was designated a Grade I listed building by English Heritage on 17 April 1967 6 The Grade I designation the highest of the three grades is for buildings of exceptional interest sometimes considered to be internationally important 7 An active church in the Church of England St Helen s is part of the Diocese of Blackburn which is in the Province of York It is in the archdeaconry of Blackburn and the Deanery of Garstang In shares a benefice with St Michael s Church in St Michael s on Wyre The official name of the parish is Garstang St Helen Churchtown 8 St Helen s is known as the cathedral of The Fylde 1 9 Architecture editExterior edit nbsp St Helen s from the north west St Helen s is constructed in the Perpendicular style of rubble with ashlar dressings 2 3 Its plan consists of a clerestoried nave with aisles to the north and south a chapel and porch to the south a tower to the west and a chancel which has north and south aisles and a north vestry 2 The roofs are low pitched 2 The chapel and aisles have a plain ashlar parapet 2 The west tower has six stages 2 It has angled buttresses on the west side and a crenellated parapet 6 There is a turret on its north east corner which has a spire 3 The belfry louvres have trefoiled two light openings with square heads 3 There is also a small square window at the level of the bell ringing chamber 2 The north wall of the tower has a clock 2 Interior and fittings edit Internally the tower measures 11 feet 3 4 m square 2 It is entered from the nave through an arch of two hollow chamfered orders 2 The nave measures 55 feet 6 inches 16 92 m by 21 feet 9 inches 6 63 m 2 It is separated from the north and south aisles by five bay arcades with pointed arches and round piers 3 6 There is a recumbent effigy in the nave to Alexander Butler d 1726 3 The Lady chapel south of the south aisle endowed by Lady Rigmayden of Wedacre in 1529 is accessed through two pointed arches 6 It was founded by Margaret Rigmaiden d 1516 of Wedacre 1 The chapel contains a piscina basin which has a cusped head 3 On the wall there is an inscription in Latin warning of idle chatter in church 3 The chancel measures 36 feet 9 inches 11 20 m by 19 feet 3 inches 5 87 m 2 The pointed chancel arch separating the chancel from the nave is in the Decorated style it has two orders with wave moulding 2 3 The vestry at the north east corner of the building is mostly constructed of dressed stone which contrasts with the rubble of the rest of the church 1 The stained glass in the church dates mostly from the 19th century It includes work by Ward and Hughes William Wailes and Heaton Butler and Bayne 3 The tower houses a ring of six bells hung in a wooden frame that are rung from the ground floor 10 They were cast in 1828 by Thomas Mears at the Whitechapel Bell Foundry in London 11 Churchyard edit nbsp The east end of the church showing the vestry 1570 The churchyard is mostly to the north and south sides of the church 2 It contains several sandstone headstones that have received a Grade II designation from English Heritage They date mostly from the 18th century nb 1 There is a sundial that dates from 1757 2 South of the church there is the chamfered shaft of a sandstone cross probably dating from the Middle Ages North east of the church is a stone cross The base is from the Middle Ages but the shaft and octagonal steps were replaced in the 1930s The whole cross and the incomplete cross shaft have also been given Grade II listings 21 22 See also edit nbsp Lancashire portal Listed buildings in Kirkland Lancashire Grade I listed buildings in Lancashire Grade I listed churches in Lancashire List of ecclesiastical works by E G PaleyReferences editNotes For details of the English Heritage listings for the churchyard s headstones see 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Footnotes a b c d Bilsborough p 56 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Farrer amp Brownbill 1912 pp 291 300 a b c d e f g h i j Hartwell amp Pevsner 2009 pp 358 59 UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark Gregory 2017 The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain 1209 to Present New Series MeasuringWorth Retrieved 7 May 2024 Brandwood et al 2012 p 222 a b c d Historic England Church of St Helen 1072874 National Heritage List for England retrieved 18 June 2011 Listed Buildings National Heritage List for England English Heritage retrieved 18 June 2011 Church Details Garstang St Helen Churchtown blackburn anglican org Diocese of Blackburn retrieved 4 May 2011 History of Wyre Churchtown wyrebc gov uk Wyre Borough Council retrieved 18 June 2011 Cheetham 1919 pp 46 47 Garstang Churchtown S Helen Dove s Guide for Church Bell Ringers 28 March 2007 retrieved 18 June 2011 Historic England Group of 2 Headstones Against East Wall of Vestry of Church of St Helen 1072877 National Heritage List for England retrieved 18 June 2011 Historic England Group of 6 Headstones Against South Wall of South Chapel of Church of St Helen 1163703 National Heritage List for England retrieved 18 June 2011 Historic England Headstone Against East Wall of South Chapel of Church of St Helen 1072878 National Heritage List for England retrieved 18 June 2011 Historic England Headstone East of Vestry of Church of St Helen 1163704 National Heritage List for England retrieved 18 June 2011 Historic England Headstone North east of Vestry of Church of St Helen 1072879 National Heritage List for England retrieved 18 June 2011 Historic England Headstone North east of Vestry of Church of St Helen 1163772 National Heritage List for England retrieved 18 June 2011 Historic England Headstone North of Vestry of Church of St Helen 1072880 National Heritage List for England retrieved 18 June 2011 Historic England Headstone North of Church of St Helen 1361958 National Heritage List for England retrieved 18 June 2011 Historic England Group of 8 Headstones North of Church of St Helen 1318085 National Heritage List for England retrieved 18 June 2011 Historic England Cross Shaft South of Church of St Helen 1318124 National Heritage List for England retrieved 19 June 2011 Historic England Cross North East of Church of St Helen 1072876 National Heritage List for England retrieved 19 June 2011 Bibliography Bilsborough Norman 1989 The Treasures of Lancashire North West Civic Trust ISBN 0 901347 41 8 Brandwood Geoff Austin Tim Hughes John Price James 2012 The Architecture of Sharpe Paley and Austin Swindon English Heritage ISBN 978 1 84802 049 8 Cheetham F H 1919 The Church Bells of Lancashire Part 4 The Hundred of Amounderness Sherratt amp Hughes OCLC 27475286 Farrer William Brownbill J eds 1912 The Parish of Garstang A History of the County of Lancaster Volume 7 retrieved 8 October 2010 Hartwell Clare Pevsner Nikolaus 2009 1969 Lancashire North New Haven and London Yale University Press ISBN 0 300 12667 0External links edit nbsp Media related to St Helen s Church Churchtown at Wikimedia Commons St Helen Churchtown at genuki org uk St Helen s Catherdral of the Fylde Garstang at achurchnearyou com Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title St Helen 27s Church Churchtown amp oldid 1176684298, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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