Church of St Wilfrid, Northenden
The Church of St Wilfrid in Ford Lane, Northenden, Manchester, England, is an Anglican church of late medieval origins which was substantially re-built in the 19th century by J. S. Crowther.[1] The church was designated a Grade II* listed building on 25 February 1952.[2]
The origin of St Wilfrid's is possibly Saxon, with a mention in the Domesday Book of a "church (at) Norwardine: (held by) Ranulf and Bigot from Earl Hugh."[3] The core of the current church is 15th century.[2] Crowther was commissioned to undertake repairs in 1872 but found that the medieval church was substantially without foundations. He therefore undertook complete rebuilding, except for the Perpendicular tower, in 1873–6.[1] Crowther also prepared plans for the re-building of the tower, but these were not followed through and reconstruction was undertaken instead.[2]
The interior contains some original medieval screens, including one above the doorway in the south chapel which depicts "a pair of tumblers and a monkey sitting on a drum. The tumblers can be read in two ways, so that they really do seem to tumble."[1] The Victorian stained glass is complete, donated either by the Tatton family of nearby Wythenshawe Hall, or the Watkins family of Rose Hill, Northenden[1] Some may be the work of the significant stained glass designer, Charles Eamer Kempe.[4] There is a good selection of funerary monuments "to members of the Tatton and Egerton families including: Robert Tatton (d.1689), aedicule with putti; Mrs Egerton (d.1784), urn with carved flower garland; William Egerton (d.1806), woman lying on sarcophagus; and to Thomas Worthington (d.1856), mourning woman with 3 sarcophagi under weeping willow."[2]
In the large graveyard is the tomb of Sir Edward Watkin, Victorian railway magnate, as well as those of many of the Tatton family.[4] The churchyard also contains war graves of eight service personnel of World War I and three from World War II.[5]
Notes
- 1 2 3 4 Hartwell et al. 2004, p 462-4
- 1 2 3 4 http://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-388133-church-of-st-wilfrid-manchester
- ↑ http://www.domesdaybook.co.uk/lancashire2.html#northenden
- 1 2 http://www.stwilfridsnorthenden.org.uk/page22.html
- ↑ CWGC Cemetery Report. Breakdown obtained from casualty record.
References
- Hartwell, Clare; Hyde, Matthew; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2004), Lancashire: Manchester and the South East, The Buildings of England, New Haven, CT; London: Yale University Press, ISBN 0-300-10583-5
Coordinates: 53°24′26″N 2°15′13″W / 53.4071°N 2.2535°W
