Tower Of Former Church Of St Chad

WYBUNBURY C.P. MAIN ROAD SJ 74 NW 11/110 Tower of former Church of St Chad. (Formerly listed as Church of St Chad). 12.1.67 G.V. II*

Church Tower C15 or C16. Sandstone ashlar with lead roof. Square tower of 5 stages. Western front: Moulded projecting plinth with chamfered top and string courses between stages, all common to whole building. Clasping buttresses to lower body (probably of early C19 date) dying to diagonal buttresses via broaches. Central doorway with richly moulded deep reveal (probably recarved in the C19). Quatrefoils to spandrels and niches to either side with crocketed ogee heads each containing a sculpture of a bishop. Pair of decorated square panels above immediately below the brattished string course. Central window above with 3-light interlacing tracery in casement moulded surround of C19 date. Niches to either side with statues under projecting canopies with crocketed spirelets above. Brattished string course above. Central niche to third stage similar to those at the second stage here holding a statue of a king with sword. The fourth stage has a central square wrought iron clock face. The fifth stage has two 2-light belfry openings under a common ogee hood-mould. Above are a row of decorated square panels. There are gargoyles to the angles and centre. The battlemented parapet has crocketed pinacles to the corners. The North and South faces are similar save for the lack of niches and the door and that they each have a 2-light window to the third stage. The rear has a cambered archway originally giving access to the church the ridge of which rose to the top of the second stage. The third stage has a lancet but no clock face. The tower lists to the north due to the sandy soil on which it is built. At the time of the re-survey (1985) it is in danger of collapse. In 1833 the earlier church was demolished and the tower straightened by James Trubshaw who erected a new body consisting of nave and chancel loosely based upon the previous building. This was in turn replaced in 1892-3 by a church by James Brooks which was demolished c.1976. Source: Nikolaus Pevsner & Edward Hubbard - The Buildings of England:Cheshire.

Listing NGR: SJ7000449872