St Mary Magdalene's Church, Alsager

St Mary Magdalene's Church, Alsager
St Mary Magdalene's Church, Alsager
Location in Cheshire
Coordinates: 53°05′46″N 2°18′26″W / 53.0961°N 2.3071°W / 53.0961; -2.3071
OS grid reference SJ 795,555
Location Crewe Road, Alsager, Cheshire
Country England
Denomination Anglican
Website St Mary, Alsager
History
Dedication Mary Magdalene
Architecture
Status Parish church
Functional status Active
Heritage designation Grade II
Designated 26 March 1987
Architect(s) Hubert Austin
Architectural type Church
Style Gothic Revival
Groundbreaking 1894
Completed 1937
Specifications
Materials Sandstone, tiled roofs
Administration
Parish St Mary Magdalene, Alsager
Deanery Congleton
Archdeaconry Macclesfield
Diocese Chester
Province York
Clergy
Priest in charge Revd Jayne Shepherd
Assistant priest Revd Dr Bryan Halson
Curate(s) Revd John Gleaves
Laity
Reader(s) Mike Elkin
Organist(s) Ken Smith
Churchwarden(s) Alison Smith
Ron Tyson

St Mary Magdalene's Church is in Crewe Road, Alsager, Cheshire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Congleton, the archdeaconry of Macclesfield, and the diocese of Chester.[1] It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.[2]

History

The church was built between 1894 and 1896 by the Lancaster firm of architects, Austin and Paley, the church having been designed in 1884 by Hubert Austin. At this time only the east bay of the north aisle was built.[3][4] The aisle was completed in 1936–37, at which time the architect was Henry Paley.[3][5] It had been planned for the tower, which rises only to the height of the nave, to be higher and for a spire to be added, but this was never achieved.[2][6]

Architecture

Exterior

St Mary's is constructed in red sandstone with tiled roofs. Its plan consists of a nave with a clerestory, north and south aisles, a north and south porch, a chancel with an organ loft and vestry to the southeast, and a west tower. The tower has diagonal buttresses, and a semi-octagonal stair turret to the south. On its west side is a four-light window. On the south side of the church is a porch with a statue of Mary Magdalene above the doorway. To the right of this are five windows, one with two lights, the others with three lights, all containing Decorated-style tracery. Along the clerestory are five two-light windows. The windows on the north side of the church are similar, but those along the aisle all have three lights. On the south wall of the chancel are three two-light windows. The east window has six lights.[2]

Interior

Between the nave and the aisle are five-bay arcades carried on elliptical piers. On the north side of the chancel is a two-bay arcade. In the south wall of the chancel are a sedilia and a piscina. The reredos and chancel screen date from 1926. The font is square with chamfered corners.[2] The stained glass includes windows from the early 20th century designed by G. P. Hutchinson for Powells, a window by Karl Parsons dated 1926 depicting Saint Michael and Gabriel, and two windows by Heaton, Butler and Bayne dating from about 1915 and from about 1920.[3] The three-manual organ was built in 1905 by Steele and Keay, with alterations by Rushworth and Dreaper in 1945, and by Ward and Shutt in 1978.[7]

See also

References

Citations

Sources

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