St Cross Church, Appleton Thorn Explained

St Cross Church, Appleton Thorn
Pushpin Map:Cheshire
Pushpin Mapsize:250
Map Caption:Location in Cheshire
Coordinates:53.3503°N -2.5456°W
Country:England
Osgraw:SJ 638 838
Location:Appleton Thorn,
Warrington, Cheshire
Website:https://stcrosschurch.org/
Dedication:Holy Cross
Status:Parish church
Functional Status:Active
Heritage Designation:Grade II
Designated Date:23 December 1983
Architect:Edmund Kirby
Architectural Type:Church
Style:Gothic Revival
Completed Date:1886
Capacity:100
Materials:Red sandstone, red tile roof
Parish:St Cross, Appleton Thorn
Deanery:Great Budworth
Archdeaconry:Chester
Diocese:Chester
Province:York
Vicar:The Revd Alan Jewell, MA (Oxon)

St Cross Church is in the village of Appleton Thorn, Cheshire, England. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of Great Budworth. Its benefice is combined with that of St Matthew's Church, Stretton.

History

The church was built in 1886 to a design by Edmund Kirby at the expense of Rowland Egerton-Warburton of Arley Hall.

Architecture

It is built in red sandstone with a red tile roof, in Decorated style. Its plan is cruciform with a two-stage tower over the crossing. It has a three-window nave without aisles, a one-window chancel, an oak-framed north porch on a sandstone plinth, and a baptistry projecting from the west end. Above the baptistry is a rose window. The stained glass in the east window is by Harcourt M. Doyle, dated 1970, and that in the rose window is by Celtic Studios of Swansea, dated 1986. The organ was built in 1906 at a cost of £220, by E. Wadsworth.

External features

The churchyard contains six war graves of British service personnel, three from World War I and three from World War II.

Connections

The church has connections with the Royal Naval Association because during the Second World War a Royal Naval Air Service station, HMS Blackcap, was in the village. Its ensign hangs in the church.

See also