Church Of St Helen

This is a small Anglican church, dating to around 1710. It was extensively remodelled around 1882 and has undergone further alterations in the 20th century. The church is constructed of red brick with a stone slate roof, incorporating simple Gothic Revival detailing.

The church has a linear plan, oriented east-west, with a nave and chancel in a straight line. The main entrance is at the west end, below a small cupola. The exterior is four bays long, comprising a three-bay nave and a single-bay chancel. It features two-light mullioned windows with four-centred arched heads set beneath hoodmoulds. The south chancel window is a taller, three-light stained glass window, matching the style of the nave openings. A narrower two-light window with stained glass is located at the east end. The west end has an arched doorway with a hoodmould, positioned between two two-light windows that extend into the gable apex. A central brick panel leads to the base of a small cupola, featuring 18th-century sandstone capitals, replaced reinforced concrete Ionic pilasters, and an ogee dome.

The interior is simple and undivided, with a west gallery added in 1882, supported by paired columns in the centre of the nave. The gallery front has horizontal panels at its base and trefoils above. Late 19th-century benches are arranged around two aisles. A 20th-century panelled altar enclosure stands alongside a late 19th-century reredos, which was introduced rather than being original to the church. Painted choir stalls are located flanking the chancel side walls. An organ chamber is situated in the northeast corner, adjacent to the chancel. A stained glass triptych, dating to 1884 and originally positioned in the east window, now occupies the south chancel window, depicting Jesus Christ, St John the Baptist, and St Paul. A more recent stained glass window depicting the Annunciation has been introduced at the east end. The roof structure contains timbers from the 18th and 19th centuries. A door in the east end leads to a vestry and a former schoolmaster's house, which is highly altered and not of special architectural interest, having lost its associated school.

The site of St Helen's Church has its origins around 1497, with the establishment of the Chantry Chapel of Hollinfare by Hamlet Massey, Lord of the Manor. It subsequently became a chapel of ease to Warrington Parish Church and acquired the name St Helen's. Following extensive remodelling in 1710, continuous ministry has continued. The interior was remodelled again in 1882, when the gallery was added and the present windows installed.

St Helen's is a small, early 18th-century church that underwent significant remodelling in the late 19th century. It retains original 18th-century brickwork and roof timbers, alongside well-designed and constructed 19th-century additions. The church’s location on the site of a 15th-century chantry chapel represents over 500 years of worship in Hollinfare, demonstrating the evolution and development of an early 18th-century church through the 19th and 20th centuries.