Building record 1483/1/1 - Church of St Bartholomew

Church of St Bartholomew. C13/C14 origins, mostly C15/C16. Remodelling c.1490 & chancel rebuilt by Henry Trafford, rector in 1522 (1).Restoration 1862-3 by Brakspear. Vestry & porch of 1878 by Crowther. Chancel clerestory & screen by Bodley & Garner 1898. Ashlar sandstone & stone-slate roof. West tower & 5 bay nave & aisles, 2-bay chancel & side chapels. South porch & Hawthorne pew project from south aisle, vestry from north side. South porch has angle buttresses with crocketted pinnacles & 4-centred arched opening & original early C16 studded door. Hawthorne pew has tall mullioned windows. 4-stage west tower has diagonal buttresses, moulded bands at 1st & 3rd floor.Int: Arcades of 5 bays with octagonal piers & double chamfered arches to aisles. South aisle has Hawthorne chapel or pew of c.1700 with segmental opening, bolection moulded panelling & containing box pews. Nave has fine roof of c.1520 with cambered tie beams & moulded beams in panelled ceiling with gilded bosses. To north is Jesus or Trafford Chapel with effigies of Humphrey Newton & wife, died 1536.Also tomb of Henry Trafford, died 1537.To south is Prescot or Booth Chapel, including early brass of Robert Booth & wife, died 1460. Under chancel is Crypt Chapel of c.1300 reached by spiral stone staircase. Full architectural description (2).First reference to church is in 1246, although one Richard Fitton is known to have been a resident priest in 1178. List of rectors from 1250 (3).Watching brief by Denise Kenyon during underpinning operations June-Nov 1985, under the Hawthorn chapel & chancel. Foundations incorporated several pieces of medieval dressed stone. Total of 9 pieces of dressed stone were recorded & a window head-all of local red sandstone. These stones probably belonged to the pre-1490 church & were incorporated into the foundations between the 1490s & 1520s.4 sherds of post Medieval earthenware & 1 fragment of glass wine bottle found at the southeast corner of Chancel (5). Three ‘Green Men’ beside tower door, probably Victorian copies of worn earlier examples. Oak ‘Green man’ boss in centre of church roof, corbel heads outside with Phrygian style head gear (6).

AAA Archaeological Advisors, 2005, St Bartholomew's Church, Wilmslow; Report on an Archaeological Evaluation. (Client Report). SCH4714.

AAA Archaeological Advisors, 2006, St Bartholomew's Chuch, Wilmslow. Extension Phase 1; Report on an Archaeological Watching Brief. (Client Report). SCH4757.

<1> Pevsner N & Hubbard E, 1971, The Buildings of England: Cheshire, /384-5 (Book). SCH3078.

<2> Department of the Environment, 1971-2005, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest, /1/274 (Report). SCH1934.

<3> Richards R, 1947, Old Cheshire Churches, Richards R 1947 /355-360 (Book). SCH2309.

<4> Ordnance Survey, 1870-1982, Ordnance Survey Archaeological Record Card, SJ88SW10/1964 (Index). SCH2487.

<5> Kenyon D, 1985, Watching brief on St Bartholomew's Church Wilmslow (Book). SCH3699.

<6> Various, Written Communication to the HER, The Manchester Museum, Petch. M, 1990. (Written Communication). SCH3756.