Building record 41/2/1 - Church of St Nicholas, Burton

<1> Department of the Environment, 1971-2005, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest, 115-20 (Report). SCH1934.

Parish Church. Red sandstone and consisting of nave, chancel with aisle and tower. First church built on site C12, part preserved in tower. Present church mostly of 1721. Massey chapel built 1380 of which the E window survived 1554 restoration. Dated stone, 1700, on W wall. 5 x 1724 bells & 1751 clock. Late C18 altar rail. Rectors from 1302

<2> PH Booth, 1984, Burton in Wirral, A History (Monograph). SCH3867.

Fabric of medieval church was in a poor state of repair by the time of the Reformation & by beginning of C18 was ready to fall down. Brief for repairs issued 1720. By 1721, tower & nave largely rebuilt. In 1724 it was reported that the chancel was in a dangerous state, had to wait another 150 years before rebuilding. Medieval cross slab in porch. Supposed burial place of St. John Plessington.

<3> Ordnance Survey, 1870-1982, Ordnance Survey Archaeological Record Card, SJ37SW8 (Index). SCH2487.

Church visited on 11/08/1964, comments:- 'In normal use'.

<4> Richards R, 1947, Old Cheshire Churches, p. 83-7, includes photos (Book). SCH2309.

Built first in the early 12th century parts of the first chapel remain in the porchway and beneath the tower. The present fabric, with the exception of the 14th century Massey Chapel, was built in 1721. Chancel rebuilt 1870.

<5> Cheshire County Council, 1989, The Parish Church of St Nicholas, Burton (Booklet-Leaflet). SCH9430.

St Nicholas is the patron saint of mariners, a hint that Burton was once a thriving port on the River Dee. The first church was erected soon after 1086. The remains of the original church include two Norman scalloped capitals which were discovered buried in the churchyard and now lie in the porch under the tower. Another medieval artefact, probably thirteenth century, is a carved coffin lid built into the north wall of the porch.

From pre-Conquest days the Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield was lord of Burton Manor and he chose the rector of the parish; in 1238 the bishop made the Prior of Denhall hospital (CHER 10/1), in the north of the township, the Rector of Burton and the revenues due to the Rector were used to maintain the hospital until its closure in 1495. After that time, the tithes were diverted for use of the Hospital of St John the Baptist at Lichfield rather than being spent on Burton's church or clergy and leading to the decay of the church. By 1380, the church was in such a bad state that it was re-built. The new church also needed extensive restoration in 1554 and the only part of this building still surviving is the Massey Chapel at the east end of the north aisle. At one time a large alabaster tomb of William Massey of Puddington and his wife was located here, but this had been removed by the time of Omerod's history of 1819. The Massey's were the most influential family in the parish for a couple of hundred years and they held the lease of the rectorship of the church, leased from the Hospital of St John the Baptist. In 1721, after the death of the last Massey, William, in 1716, the parishioners of Burton obtained a 'brief' (a begging letter circulated among other parish churches in the country) which generated funds to rebuild the nave and tower of the church. The chancel was rebuilt in 1870 by the Congreve family.