St Mary's and St Michael's Church, Burleydam

St Mary's and St Michael's Church, Burleydam

St Mary's and St Michael's Church, Burleydam,
from the southwest
St Mary's and St Michael's Church, Burleydam
Location in Cheshire
Coordinates: 52°58′45″N 2°35′13″W / 52.9791°N 2.5870°W / 52.9791; -2.5870
OS grid reference SJ 606 426
Location Burleydam, Cheshire
Country England
Denomination Anglican
Website St Mary and St Michael, Burleydam
History
Founded 1769
Founder(s) Cottons of Combermere Abbey
Architecture
Status Parish church
Functional status Active
Heritage designation Grade II
Designated 12 January 1967
Architectural type Church
Style Georgian
Groundbreaking 1769
Completed 1886
Specifications
Materials Brick with slate roof
Timber bellcote with lead roof
Administration
Parish Burleydam
Deanery Nantwich
Archdeaconry Macclesfield
Diocese Chester
Province York
Clergy
Vicar(s) Revd Alison Fulford
Laity
Reader(s) Elizabeth Gentil,
Cynthia Gorton,
Ron High
Churchwarden(s) Susan Harding
John Tomlinson

St Mary's and St Michael's Church is in the village of Burleydam in the civil parish of Dodcott cum Wilkesley, Cheshire, England. The church is some 1.5 miles (2 km) to the southeast of Combermere Abbey. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.[1] It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Macclesfield and the deanery of Nantwich. Its benefice is combined with those of St Michael, Baddiley, and St Margaret, Wrenbury.[2]

History

The church was built in 1769 at the expense of the Cottons of Combermere Abbey. This church was cruciform in shape and in 1886 two further transepts, a chancel, a new west wall, a northwestern porch and a bellcote were added.[1] The church was noted by Dr Johnson on his visit to Combermere on 24 July 1774. He describes the church as "neat and plain" with "handsome" communion plate.[1][3]

Architecture

Exterior

The church is built in brick with a slate roof. The west aspect has pilaster buttresses on each side on top of which are conical caps and ball finials. In the centre are three arched windows above which is a stone cornice and a gable containing a circular clock face with a stone surround. At the apex of the gable is a cross.[1] At the date of listing, there was a timber bellcote on the ridge behind the cross, with a lead roof and a weather-cock on the summit; the bellcote became unsafe and was removed in 1992.[1][4] The north aspect has a porch to the right with a round arch to the door above which is a carving of Saint George slaying the dragon. To the left are the transept and chancel with arched windows. The south aspect is similar but without a porch. The east aspect has a triple round-headed window and pilaster buttresses similar to those on the west aspect.[1]

Interior

In the church is a monument to Viscount Combermere who died in 1865. It consists of a bust under a Gothic arch. The stained glass in the east window is by Kempe and is dated 1908.[5] The two-manual organ was built by Peter Conacher of Huddersfield.[6]

External features

The cast iron railings, piers and gates at the entry to the churchyard date from the early 18th century are listed Grade II. They were brought from Llewenny and were also noted by Dr Johnson, who describes them as "of great elegance."[3][7]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Historic England, "Church of St Michael, Dodcott cum Wilkesley (1138532)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 2 April 2012
  2. ↑ St Mary and St Michael, Burleydam, Church of England, retrieved 2 September 2009
  3. 1 2 Boswell, James (1831), The Life of Samuel Johnson (Volume 3), J. Murray
  4. ↑
    • Local History Group, Latham FA (ed.). Wrenbury and Marbury, pp. 71–72 (The Local History Group; 1999) (ISBN 0 9522284 5 9)
  5. ↑ Hartwell, Clare; Hyde, Matthew; Hubbard, Edward; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2011) [1971], Cheshire, The Buildings of England, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, p. 196, ISBN 978-0-300-17043-6
  6. ↑ Burleydam St. Mary and St. Michael, British Institute of Organ Studies, retrieved 15 August 2008
  7. ↑ Historic England, "Railings, piers and gates at Church of St Michael, Dodcott cum Wilkesley (1312550)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 2 April 2012
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