Monument record 1434/1/1 - Chapel in St Peter's Churchyard

<1> English Heritage, 2005, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest, 413839 (Digital Archive). SCH4666.

Chapel: c.1150 but rebuilt and restored 1747 for Sir William Meredith. Ashlar buff sandstone with Kerridge stone-slate roof. Simple two-bay nave and lower one-bay chancel. West doorway is surviving twelfth century work. Pair of columns with scrolled capitals have three semi-circular arches with raised heads, zig zags and pellets respectively. Tympanum has figure of Christ in Majesty (now badly worn) above a pair of studded oak doors. Above the corbel table are seven now defaced figures, said to represent the Trinity, St. Peter, Richard I and figures of church and state. A plaque in a rusticated surround records in Latin the restoration. ‘SACELLUM HOC ANTIQUISSIMUM UT PERHIBETUR HVIUS PAROCHIAE ORATORIUM VETUSTATE RUINOSUM UNA IAM PRIDEM PARTE COLLAPSA OMNI FERE ALTERA COLLAPASCENTE NE PRISCAE PIETATIS VENERABILE MONUMENTUM FUNDITUS CORRUERIT SUMPTIBUS SUIS RESTITUIT G.M.B. AD MDCCXLVII’. There is an elliptical light in the gable. A simple plinth goes around the chapel and there are two round headed lights in the nave and one in the chancel. East window is a circular light. Interior: Windows are in slight embrasures. Rebated semi-circular chancel arch over three steps to raised chancel. Altar table in semi-circular headed recess. Three further plaques in Latin in the chancel and one over nave door refer to the reconstruction.

<2> Earwaker, J P, 1877-1880, East Cheshire Past & Present, Vol.II p.188-191 (Book). SCH1080.

Reproduces a sketch of the chapel made in 1592.

‘…the doorway at the west end and the figures above it, are the only portions of the building which are old and in their original positions, the remainder having been rebuilt about the middle of the last century. This doorway and the figures are, however, so characteristic, that there is no doubt that this little building represents the original Norman Church of Prestbury, and that some-time in the thirteenth century a larger church was erected near it, the old building being allowed to remain…’

‘…The western doorway was round-headed, having three columns on either side, all apparently ornamented and terminating in square capitals. On the tympanum was carved a figure of God within a vesica-shaped aureole and having what appear to be figures with out-stretched wings on either side. Above this appear to have, been two or more arches, the outer having a series of carved heads…, and the inner one ornamented with a zigzag moulding. The row of seven figures was placed immediately above the doorway… Above these figures are shown three lancet windows, having shafts with capitals between them…The roof of the chapel was acutely pointed, and the chancel was separated from the nave by a round-headed chancel arch. The nave was lighted by a small window on the south side, somewhat high up, and there was probably a similar window on the north side. The chancel was small and. terminated in an apse, one narrow window only being shown in the sketch. At the western end was a small bellcot…’

‘…The seven figures…are now so much defaced and worn…The general character of the carving, however, the long faces, the short bodies, and the pointed toes, clearly show their Norman character. The central figure is represented standing, with a glory round the head, holding in the left hand an open book, and having in the other a staff surmounted with a cross patee. The figure on his right appears to be seated, or to have an animal (? a lamb) in front of it; the next figure is standing habited in a long-sleeved gown, and holding a ball in the left hand, and in the right what may be a branch. The last figure on that side is very much worn. The figure on the left-hand side of the central one is so much worn that it is impossible to identify it; it has, however, never been the figure of a man. The next is standing holding what appears to be a key in the right hand; the last figure is leaning on a staff…’

The chapel was rebuilt in 1747 by Sir William Meredith, Bart., the owner of the Henbury estate. Changes to the fabric are recorded in a number of Latin inscriptions mounted in the chapel. The tympanum of the doorway was moved to the interior of the west wall and unfortunately plaster and whitewashed over at some point. Documentary sources dating from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries seem to indicate that the chapel was granted to the Davenports of Henbury as a private chapel in recompense for some unspecified building.

<3> Richards R, 1947, Old Cheshire Churches, p.282-3 (Book). SCH2309.

The doorway and the figures above are the only surviving parts of the original early twelfth century chapel the remainder having been considerably altered and rebuilt in the middle eighteenth century by Sir William Meredith of Henbury and used as a burial place for his family. In later years it was used as a school.

The tympanum above the Norman doorway depicted Christ in Majesty; Christ depicted enthroned as the ruler of the world, a rare subject in England for the period. The seven figures are thought to represent:

1) A soldier leaning on his battle-axe.
2) A seated king wearing a crown and holding an orb and sceptre.
4-5) The Holy trinity represented by three figures with a (some-what dog like) lamb at their feet.
6) St Peter holding a key.
7) A priest holding a staff.

<4> Ordnance Survey, 1870-1982, Ordnance Survey Archaeological Record Card, SJ97 NW 5 (Index). SCH2487.

The chapel is in normal use [Waggot TP 16/04/1964].

<5> Ormerod, G., 1882, The History of the County Palatine and City of Chester, Vol.III p.649-650 (Book). SCH1389.

With regard to the seven figures this source suggests the following interpretation: ‘…May not the central figure be supposed to represent an early preacher of Christianity, with his divine master, and the king and the priest (symbols of well-ordered government) beyond him, on his right? To the left the rabid animal may refer to the wolf Fenrir, the Scandinavian evil genius which is to break its chains at the end of the world, and the armed noble and vassal refer to the desolation brought into England by the hordes of northern pagans, in contradistinction to the peaceful symbols on the right…’.

<6> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey Land Line and Master Map Vector Maps, 02/04/2019 (Maps and Plans). SCH4491.