Building record 2948/1/0 - United Reformed Church/Over Congregational Church, Swanlow Lane

<1> Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England (RCHME), 1994, An Inventory of Non-Conformist Chapels and Meeting Houses in the North of England, Cheshire Number 152 (Book). SCH4548.

Congregational Chapel. 'Providence Chapel', built in 1814-15, was superseded in 1865-8 but survived in Sunday school use until 1880. The present chapel, by John Douglas of Chester, has walls of red and yellow patterned brickwork in the Lombardic style with an arcaded loggia entrance.

<2> Department of the Environment, 1971-2005, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest, Vol 4, p.109 (Report). SCH1934.

<3> Historic England, 2011, The National Heritage List for England, 1160821 (Web Site). SCH6528.

The Congregational Church. GV II Church. 1864-5. By John Douglas. Flemish bond brick with ashlar dressings and slate roof. The body of the church has a slightly projecting plinth of blue brick with alternating bands of red and white brick above and some diapered patterns. The roof is also diapered with grey, green and mauve slates arranged in patterns. Nave, projecting porch at Eastern end with gallery over and organ chamber of c.1900 to south-west. Eastern front: three central projecting bays with porch below and gallery over with clasping buttresses at sides which continue, forming small square turrets with the gable between and staircase quadrants to sides. Central recessed porch of three bays forming an arcade-screen with round columns of grey granite supported on bases of red sandstone ashlar with crocket capitals of similar material. Ovolo-moulded arches above with voussoirs of alternating red and white brick. Continuous hood-mould above with label stops of figurehead and floral design. Above the porch is a band of diamond patterned diapering and above this a corbel table of white brick connecting with a continuous sill below the three central gallery windows. The central one of these rises higher than the other two and each has two round-arched lights with a round window above. Diapering to gable and moulded surround beneath eaves which have stone coping. The lateral turrets have stone capping pieces with gablets and crocketed finials. Quadrants to sides have single-light staircase windows. South side: staircase quandrant at right with clasping buttress to left of this. Four bays with buttresses between having ashlar offsets. Two-light slightly recessed windows with ashlar surrounds of plate tracery each of two arched lights with porthole to apex. Round-headed relieving arches with voussoirs of alternating red and white brick. Square organ chamber to left with canted corners and octagonal pyramidal roof terminated by a wrought iron finial. North front similar to south save for absence of organ chamber. West end: square vestry to left with canted corners and with hipped roof terminating in wrought iron finial (the model for the later organ chamber). Lean to porch entrance to lower central walling. C20 church hall extension to right. Above these is a central rose window of plate tracery formed of a single round light surrounded by eight others. Pilaster buttresses to either side of this wing to form small turrets as at the east end, the difference here being that the left hand one terminates as a chimney. Ashlar coping stones to gable. The roof has three gabled louvres to each side.

<4> SLR Consulting Ltd, 2023, Heritage Assessment (Pre-Application): Land to the rear of URC, Handley Hill, Winsford, R4715 (Client Report). SCH9481.

Over Congregational Church, as it was known until 1972, serves as a fine example of Victorian architecture and was built of red and white polychromatic brickwork with a steeply pitched slate roof. It was part of the Cheshire Congregational Union, and it later became part of the Mersey Province (now Synod) of the United Reformed Church.

Towards the end of the 20th century, two further phases of building resulted in the establishment of meeting rooms and a hall to the south of the original building, which became heavily used by the local community. In 1975, a new by-pass road was constructed through part of the church land, resulting in the church being physically separated from its Sunday School building. The latter was gradually replaced by a two-stage extension to the rear of the church by the end of the century. The first stage of this Sunday School centre opened in 1981 and comprised a meeting room, kitchen, and new toilets. The second stage opened in 1988 and featured a large hall with a stage, a games room, and a small meeting room.