Church Of St Paul With St Luke

This list entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 26/10/2011

SJ38NW 789-1/4/280 28/03/74

BIRKENHEAD OLD CHESTER ROAD, Tranmere (West side) Church of St Paul with St Luke

(Formerly listed as Church of St Paul)

GV II

Parish church. 1854-5. By W. and J.Hay. Coursed and squared red sandstone with Welsh slate roofs. Nave with transepts, and chancel. Tower and spire to north of chancel. Massive tower with heavy angle buttresses, one housing stair turret. Door with shafts and hood mould over in north face. Second stage has triple trefoiled windows in chamfered arcading with coping over. Angles are heavy pinnacles to brooch spire with clock and tall thin louvred lucarnes forming bell-chamber lights. Nave has three 2-light Decorated windows to south and door towards east, against the projecting vestry which halances the tower to south of chancel. Massive west window of 5-lights. Scar of porch over north doorway within added hall complex. 4-light Decorated window to transepts with 5 trefoiled lancets below. 5-light Decorated east window, with crucifix as war memorial below. Interior: aisleless nave of 3 bays defined by pointed arched braced principal rafters carried on long wall posts springing from corbels. Shallow transepts forming a dramatically wide crossing, the roof trusses forming a quadripartite vault over. Moulded and chamfered chancel arch. Chancel screen dated 1910 and enriched 1922. By Hastwell Grayson. Ogee traceried open-work panels in Perpendicular style, and central enriched arch. Crucifix with figures of Saints Mary and John on coved canopy over. Pulpit in similar style erected when the screen was enriched, 1922. Elaborate painted reredos, the original centre-piece of between 1883 and 1897 representing Christ in majesty, the hinged wings a later addition (after 1907), with painted saints and angels. Marble octagonal font with low relief angels at the cardinal points. Stained glass: east window, angels and archangels. Figures of saints in north and south chancel windows, and white glazed ceramic low relief annunciation scene in lower part of south window. Figures of bishops and St George in north transept lower lights. Lower lights of south transept are scenes from the life of Mary, 1920-1922. Upper window the life of St Paul, 1922. (The Buildings of England: Pevsner N and Hubbard E: Cheshire: Harmondsworth: 1971-).

Listing NGR: SJ3252486837