Church Of St Helen

The Church of St. Helen is a medieval parish church located in Gateley. It is constructed of flint with ashlar and some brick dressings, topped with lead and slate roofs. The church features a west tower, an aisleless nave with a south porch, and a chancel with a vestry to the north. The 15th-century west tower has diagonal buttresses and a square stair turret on the southeast corner. It includes traceried two-light Perpendicular bell openings and a similar two-light west window, along with a crenellated parapet. There are two carved heraldic shields on the southern buttress between the nave and the tower.

The nave contains four 15th-century two-light windows with paired mouchettes and four-centred arches. The Victorian chancel and vestry, added in 1866 by J.B. and W. Atkinson, feature three two-light windows and a three-light east window designed in a 14th-century reticulated style. The vestry has two circular stone chimney shafts.

Inside, there is a Perpendicular tower arch with three orders and two pairs of half-shafts, along with a modern chancel arch that has simple chamfers. The 15th-century arch braced roof includes a roll-moulded wall plate, moulded principals, butt-purlins, and a ridge beam. A notable feature is the fine 15th-century chancel screen, which has five bays with traceried heads and eight dado panels that still display surviving paintings. The church also has eleven medieval bench ends with carved poppy heads and unique reptile-based armrest carvings, along with five benches that have open traceried backs. The chancel is adorned with 17th-century turned communion rails and features a wall monument to Robert Sharbrook, who died in 1803. This monument has an elongated octagonal dark background with a carved white marble heart shape, surrounded by putti and clouds.