St John the Evangelist's Church, Toft

St John the Evangelist's Church, Toft
St John the Evangelist's Church, Toft, from the south
St John the Evangelist's Church, Toft Location in Cheshire
Coordinates: 53°17′11″N 2°21′46″W / 53.2864°N 2.3627°W
OS grid reference	SJ 759 767
Location	Toft Road, Toft, Cheshire
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Website	St John, Toft
History
Dedication	Saint John the Evangelist
Consecrated	1855
Architecture
Status	Parish church
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade II
Designated	28 November 1984
Architect(s)	William Gilbee Habershon
Architectural type	Church
Style	Gothic Revival
Groundbreaking	1852
Completed	1855
Specifications
Materials	Stone, tiled roof
Administration
Parish	St John the Evangelist, Toft
Deanery	Knutsford
Archdeaconry	Macclesfield
Diocese	Chester
Province	York
Clergy
Vicar(s)	Revd Nigel Terence Atkinson
Assistant	Dan Young
Laity
Reader(s)	John Roberts, Thain Flowers
Churchwarden(s)	Hazel Raw, Val Brooker
Parish administrator	Helen Kimber

St John the Evangelist's Church is in Toft Road, Toft, Cheshire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Knutsford, the archdeaconry of Macclesfield, and the diocese of Chester. Its benefice is combined with that of St John the Baptist, Knutsford.^[1] The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.^[2]

History

The church was built between 1852 and 1855, and designed by William Gilbee Habershon.^[3] It was paid for by Mrs Leycester of Toft Hall in memory of her husband.^[4] Its chancel was intended for the use of the family, rather than for a choir.^[3]

Architecture

St John's is constructed in rubble stone with ashlar dressings, and has a tiled roof. Its plan consists of a five-bay nave with a southwest porch, a north aisle, a chancel with a northeast vestry, and a southwest steeple. Inside the church the arcade between the nave and the aisle is carried on alternate circular and octagonal piers.^[3] Mrs Leycester was French, and commissioned the French artist Antoine Lusson to design the stained glass in the east window and in the other windows in the chancel.^[4] These are dated 1853, and consist of quatrefoil scenes.^[3] To celebrate the 2000 millennium, more stained glass windows were commissioned for the windows in the north aisle.^[4] The two manual pipe organ was built in 1888 by C. Whiteley, and repaired in 1929 by Jardine and Company.^[5]

See also

• Listed buildings in Toft, Cheshire

References

1. St John the Evangelist, Toft, Church of England, retrieved 19 March 2012
2. Historic England, "Church of St John the Evangelist, Toft (1329782)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 19 March 2012
3. Hartwell, Clare; Hyde, Matthew; Hubbard, Edward; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2011) [1971], Cheshire, The Buildings of England, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, p. 643, ISBN 978-0-300-17043-6
4. Brief History and Features of the Church, St John's Knutsford, retrieved 19 March 2012
5. Cheshire, Toft, St. John the Evangelist (J00055), British Institute of Organ Studies, retrieved 19 March 2012