Church Of St Bridget

The Church of St Bridget is a church with a history spanning the 14th century to the late 19th century, located on Church Road in West Kirby, Hoylake. The church incorporates significant masonry from the 14th century, although it has undergone substantial restoration. Remnants of the original chancel, vestry east bay, and north aisle remain. The west tower was constructed between 1492 and 1530. A major restoration took place between 1869 and 1870, carried out by Kelly and Edwards.

The church is built of stone with a slate roof and comprises a nave, north and south aisles, a west tower, a chancel, a north chapel, and a vestry. The tower features two diagonal buttresses. The west entrance has an arch with spandrel quatrefoils and splayed reveals; the jambs are panelled, the lintel bears armorial bearings and flowers and the label is moulded. A three-light Perpendicular window sits above the west entrance, while paired two-light bell openings are present on the tower’s upper levels. A cornice and embattled parapet with tracery panels complete the tower’s exterior. The north aisle’s windows are square-headed, with three, four, and three lights, featuring cusped lights set between deep, weathered buttresses. A gabled timber-framed porch fronts the north aisle. The south aisle features three-light Decorated windows on its west, south and east sides. The chancel has a five-light east window; its tracery takes the form of superimposed cusped arches, a relatively rare design, and it has been renewed. Three-light windows are positioned to the south, set between deep buttresses. The chapel has a four-light, square-headed window with a transom, and square-headed north windows, one of which is now obscured by the vestry. The vestry’s east bay is under a lean-to roof, the west bay is gabled with a stack to the west.

Inside, the nave arcades consist of four bays with octagonal piers; the roof is arch-braced with angel corbels, supported by wind braces. Flat-topped dormers exist but are not visible externally. The chancel arch is partially screened by a low wrought iron barrier with a rood on an overthrow, both designed by C.E. Kempe. Above the arch are relief figures of angels on a stencilled background, also by Kempe. A west organ loft, previously located in the chapel, includes a case by Douglas and Fordham. The church also holds a 19th-century circular font with relief decoration and a traceried canopy. The canted pulpit is decorated with quatrefoils and relief decoration. The chancel has a waggon-boarded roof and a three-bay north trefoil-headed arcade with a wrought iron parclose screen. An altar and timber reredos incorporate reused roof timbers from Chester Cathedral. Alongside are two sedilia and a piscina, featuring cusped arches. The stalls have traceried bench ends, with some 17th-century examples in the chapel. Two windows within the chancel date around 1860. Numerous windows by Kempe illustrate the development of his style from 1870 to 1906-7.