Building record 1065/1 - Church of St Luke

<1> Earwaker J P, 1890, History of the Ancient Parish of Sandbach, p.158-187 (Book). SCH1431.

A chapel referred to in a document dating from the period 1245 to 1269 is believed to be at Holmes Chapel. The presence of eight wooden pillars in the nave may indicate that the precursor to the present church building was made of timber.

The church building comprises a square tower at the western end and a small chancel at the east end. Between them is the nave with aisles either side. There are four wooden columns on either side of the nave between it and the aisles. The nave has a rounded roof and galleries on the southern and western sides. The latter is dated 1705. The body of the church is brick and dates from the eighteenth century (prior to 1716). The tower, the oldest part of the church, is built of stone and probably dates from the fifteenth or early sixteenth century. The upper part, which includes the belfry, appears to be later addition and was originally surmounted by heavy stone pinnacles. Marks on the lower walls of the tower were reputedly made during the Civil War by musket balls. The side aisles terminate in chapels which may predate the aisles and have originally been free standing.

Includes details of the funerary monuments, strained glass, bells, registers etc.

<2> English Heritage, 2005, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest, 406436 (Digital Archive). SCH4666.

Parish Church, circa 1430 with early eighteenth century alterations. Sandstone tower, red brick chancel and nave, in Flemish bond, stone slate roof. Tower with porch, 4 bay nave, with side aisles, and one bay chancel. This is a large Perpendicular timber church with Perpendicular west tower but the chancel and nave were encased in brickwork early in the eighteenth century. Square sandstone tower with buttresses which reduce four times in height. Gothic headed, ledged and boarded oak door, on large plain strap hinges, in coved and headed opening surmounted by a hood mould. There is a 2-light Perpendicular window over the door and an empty niche with splayed reveals above this. There is a small single light window below the two light louvred window opening at bell stage. Diamond shaped clock dials to north and south faces of the tower. Plain coved cornice with angle gargoyles and crenellated parapet. The aisle windows are in two tiers, semi-circular headed, single light, lead lattice, glazed, wood windows below, and shorter, segmental, single light, wood windows above a three course deep projecting brick band. Six window bays each side. There are segmental headed oak boarded doors, on strap hinges, in the second and sixth window bays each side. On the north aisle the doors are flanked by wide brick pilasters and have pediments above the arches. The aisles have lean-to roofs with slightly shallower pitches than the nave. There are sandstone copings with kneelers to the ends of the aisle roofs. The chancel has a three light, stone, Perpendicular window with stained glass surmounted by a hood mould supported by corbels with faces. The chancel roof is lower than the nave and has sandstone ridge and hips. There is a small vestry in the angle between the aisle and chancel on the north side. Interior: The tower entrance leads into a porch with tower steps. It is separated from the nave by a pair of 1980 3-panel glazed doors with wide panelled lining. The nave is separated from the aisles by angle roll-beaded octagonal oak posts, on low stone bases, which support the three main roof trusses. There are oak panelled galleries, circa 1705, across the back of the church (west) and over the south aisle. These contain the organ and three rows of box pews respectively. The nave floor is of stone slabs and head stones. The chancel has a plain oak reredos and side panelling and there is a low oak communion rail with turned balusters. A carved oak crest dated 1622 is set low down (south) by the Communion Rail. Wall memorials with dates 1810, 1828 and 1836 in the chancel. A number of good wall memorials from 1915 to mid-nineteenth century on the aisle walls. Stone font of 1890 and nineteenth century oak pulpit with Gothic motifs. A brass chandelier of 1708 hangs from a nave main truss. The chancel ceiling is low, flat and plastered and separated from the nave by a chevron plaster filled truss. The fifteenth century nave roof has arch braced trusses with cambered tie beams. The moulding on the octagonal posts continues on to the arch braces and there are shaped struts to the upper purlins. Intermediate arch braced collar trusses also with shaped struts. There are exposed rafters and two lines of purlins with quatrefoil wind braces. Main roof wall plates strutted and braced from a girding beam 600mm below. Aisle roofs have exposed rafters and purlins supported by simple braced trusses which are carried by the octagonal niouldadposts which separate the aisles from the nave. Although there is no external indication of the quality of this roof frame this church must rank high among Cheshire's timber framed churches.

<3> Ormerod, G., 1882, The History of the County Palatine and City of Chester, Vol.III p.123-4 (Book). SCH1389.

‘…The Parochial Chapel [or as now called church of St. Luke,] consists of a tower, nave, chancel, and side aisles, terminating also in private chancels. The tower is ancient, built of red stone, and finished in the pointed style, with battlements, buttresses, and pinnacles. The nave rests on wooden pillars, and the brick side aisles are of modern addition. [The interior has lately been restored, and re-seated (with pitch-pine), and the seats are now all free and unappropriated…’

<4> Ordnance Survey, 1870-1982, Ordnance Survey Archaeological Record Card, SJ76 NE 6 (Index). SCH2487.

<5> Richards R, 1947, Old Cheshire Churches, p.186-190 (Book). SCH2309.

The tower is pitted with bullet marks from a skirmish in the adjoining square in 1643. It is possible that the stained glass mentioned in the sixteenth century was destroyed during the Civil War or soon afterwards.

‘…The existing church consists of a nave with two side aisles, a square tower at the west end, and a small chancel which is not separated from the nave…the tower of red and grey sandstone is now the oldest part of the building, dating from the fifteenth century, the rest of the fabric having been re-cased with brick…during the eighteenth century. Formerly the aisles and chancel were of timbered construction, and the building in those days would have been one of the largest examples of a timber-framed…church in Cheshire, revealing possibly work of the original chapel...Brasses known to have existed in the early fifteenth century and now vanished, imply that the medieval church was of considerable consequence...a nave with aisles divided by eight wooden piers resting on their original stone footings, and an arcade consisting of two and a half bays. The fifteenth century piers, revealing adze marks, are comparatively slender and support the horizontal beams bearing the roof weight…the Jacobean altar rails, consisting of good turned balusters, are still in their original position ; the altar table and pulpit, however, are copies of the originals. Suspended from one of the ancient roof beams is the oldest brass candelabrum in any church in the county…’

<6> Harris, B.E. (ed), 1987, Victoria County History - A History of the County of Chester: Volume I, p.291 (Book). SCH3556.

The churchyard is curvilinear suggesting a late Saxon origin (see 7).

<7> Kenyon, D, 1985, Archaeology, Place-names and Settlement in Lancashire and Cheshire, c.400-1066 (Unpublished Report). SCH8646.

<8> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey Land Line and Master Map Vector Maps, 07/02/2019 (Maps and Plans). SCH4491.

<9> Hartwell C, Hyde M, Hubbard E & Pevsner N, 2011, The Buildings of England: Cheshire (2011 revision), p.401-2 (Book). SCH7059.

Perpendicular tower with traceried bell openings. The body of the church is seemingly early eighteenth century, but the brickwork is only a casing for ‘…an exceptionally large Perpendicular timber church…’.