User:Peter I. Vardy/sandbox2
| Church of Saint John the Baptist, Liverpool | |
|---|---|
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Anglican |
| District | Diocese of Liverpool |
| Province | Province of York |
| Ecclesiastical or organizational status | Parish church |
| Location | |
| Location | Tuebrook, Liverpool, Merseyside, England |
| Architecture | |
| Architect(s) | George Frederick Bodley |
| Type | Church |
| Construction cost | £25,000 |
| Materials | Red and buff stone Tile and slate roofs |
The Church of Saint John the Baptist, Liverpool, is on the corner of West Derby Road and Green Lane, in Tuebrook, Liverpool, Merseyside, England (grid reference SJ382924). It is a Grade I listed building[1] and an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Liverpool, the archdeaconry of Liverpool and the deanery of West Derby.[2]
History
The church was built between 1867 and 1870, its cost of £25,000 being totally met by the wife of Rev. J. C. Reade. The architect was George Frederick Bodley. The interior was redecorated in 1910 by Henry Hare to Bodley's design. This was restored in 1968–71 by Stephen Dykes Bower.[3]
There was controversy before the church was consecrated because Bodley intended to use an early 16th century altarpiece from Antwerp which had carved tableaux of the Passion as the reredos. However the Bishop of Chester considered it to be too "Popish" and he refused to consecrate the church until it was removed. The altarpiece is now in St Michael's Church, Brighton.[3]
Structure
The church is built in red and buff stone, which is irregularly banded.[3] The main roof is tiled, while the roofs of the aisles are of slate. Its plan consists of a five-bay nave with clerestory, aisles under lean-to roofs, a west tower, a north porch, a chancel with a chapel to the north, the organ loft to the south and a detached vestry connected to the chancel by a short passage. The tower has angled buttresses and a west entrance above which is a three-light window. The top stage has two-light louvred bell-openings and a panelled parapet with pinnacles at the corners.[1] The spire is recessed on an octagonal base containing gabled two-light openings and it is attached to the pinnacles by flying buttresses.[1][3] At the south east corner of the tower is a lean-to stair turret. The porch has a flat roof with a parapet and a niche over the entrance containing a statue.[1]
Decoration, fittings and furnishings
Pollard and Pevsner describe the interior as being "glorious" and "richly coloured" due to the "resplendent display of Bodley fittings and the vibrant decoration".[3] Images of England states that it is "one of the finest examples of Victorian polychromy.[1] The walls and the roofs are all richly stencilled, and in addition there is a wall painting on the east wall of the nave by C. E. Kempe. The gilt reredos dates from 1871 and has panels painted by Kempe.[3] The area under the tower has made into the Chapel of the Holy Rood and contains a reredos, and altar and a credence table which were adapted in 1978 from a rood screen of 1890 by Bodley which was taken from Dunstable Priory.[1][3] The pulpit and the octagonal font were both designed by Bodley, as were the richly painted screens (again with panels by Kempe). The stained glass in the east window and the south window in the chancel is by Morris & Co.; windows elsewhere are by Burne-Jones. In the church is a brass memorial from 1926 by Hare which consists of a life-size figure of Rev. Ralph Brockman. The memorial to the First World War is a statue of Mary, also by Hare; that to the Second World War is a statue of John the Baptist by Sir Ninian Comper.[3] The three-register organ was made by William Hill & Sons in 1867 and cleaned and improved by the same company in 1895. It is contained in a "magnificent Bodley case, with embossed display pipes".[4] The ring consists of eight bells which were cast in 1869 by John Warner & Sons.[5]
Vicarage
The vicarage, completed in 1890, was also designed by Bodley.[3] It is a Grade II listed building in grey brick with red brick bands and red sandstone dressings. It has three storeys and a tile roof.[6]
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Images of England: Church of St John the Baptist". English Heritage. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
- ^ "Deanery of West Derby". The Diocese of Liverpool. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Pollard, Richard (2006). The Buildings of England: Lancashire: Liverpool and the South-West. New Haven & London: Yale University Press. pp. 477–479. ISBN 0 300 10910 5.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ "Liverpool-Tuebrook, St. John". British Institute of Organ Studies. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
- ^ "Liverpool, Tuebrook, S John Bapt". Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
- ^ "Images of England: Vicarage of St John Baptist". English Heritage. Retrieved 2008-10-08.