St Wilfrid's Church is in Main Street,
Melling,
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...
, England. It is recorded in the
National Heritage List for England
The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, ...
as a designated Grade I
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
,
and is an active
Anglican
Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
church in the united
benefice
A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...
of East Lonsdale, the deanery of Tunstall, the archdeaconry of Lancaster and the
diocese of Blackburn. Its
benefice
A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...
is combined with those of
St Peter, Leck,
St John the Baptist, Tunstall,
St James the Less, Tatham, the
Good Shepherd, Lowgill, and
Holy Trinity, Wray.
History
The earliest fabric in the church dates from around 1300 or earlier
[ but, as it is near the earthworks of a ]motte-and-bailey
A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively eas ...
castle, it is possible that a church has been present on the site since the 10th century. Most of the present church dates from the late 15th century,[ with a restoration in 1763 when the ]clerestory
A clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey; from Old French ''cler estor'') is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye-level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both.
Historically, a ''clerestory' ...
was added. In 1891 a further restoration was carried out by the Lancaster
Lancaster may refer to:
Lands and titles
*The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire
*Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies
*Duke of Lancaster
*Earl of Lancaster
*House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty
...
architects Paley, Austin and Paley. This included reseating the church, and cost £1,100 (). A chapel known as the Morley chapel had been created as a chantry
A chantry is an ecclesiastical term that may have either of two related meanings:
# a chantry service, a set of Christian liturgical celebrations for the dead (made up of the Requiem Mass and the Office of the Dead), or
# a chantry chapel, a b ...
from a pre-existing chapel by John Morley who fought at Agincourt in 1415. This was heavily re-modelled in 1841 when the altar was removed, and was restored as a chapel in 1994–95.[
]
Architecture
The church is built in sandstone
Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...
rubble
Rubble is broken stone, of irregular size, shape and texture; undressed especially as a filling-in. Rubble naturally found in the soil is known also as 'brash' (compare cornbrash)."Rubble" def. 2., "Brash n. 2. def. 1. ''Oxford English Dictionar ...
with a stone slate roof. Its plan consists of a west tower, a nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
and chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...
under a continuous roof with a clerestory
A clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey; from Old French ''cler estor'') is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye-level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both.
Historically, a ''clerestory' ...
, north and south aisle
An aisle is a linear space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, in buildings such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parliaments, courtrooms, ...
s, a south porch and a south chapel. The tower has diagonal buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient (typically Gothic) buildings, as a means of providing support to act ...
es and an embattled
A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals t ...
parapet
A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/brea ...
. The west window of the south aisle dates from around 1300.[ This window includes a fragment of ]medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...
stained glass.[ Internally, the aisle pews date from the 18th century but the nave pews, the screens, the ]pulpit
A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, accesse ...
, and the communion rails are from the late 19th century. In the chapel is an aumbry without a door and a squint
Squinting is the action of looking at something with partially closed eyes.
Squinting is most often practiced by people who suffer from Refractive error, refractive errors of the eye who either do not have or are not using their glasses. Squint ...
. There are numerous memorial wall tablets. Discovered during the restoration and built into the vestry wall is a piece of Norman chevron ornament, part of a crucifix
A crucifix (from the Latin meaning '(one) fixed to a cross') is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the (Latin for 'body'). The cru ...
, and part of a grave slab.[ The stained glass in the east window was designed by Henry Holiday.][ The organ was built in 1891 by J. W. Walker of London. There is a ]ring
(The) Ring(s) may refer to:
* Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry
* To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell
Arts, entertainment, and media Film and TV
* ''The Ring'' (franchise), a ...
of six bells which were recast in 1754 from three bells made in the 15th century by Rudhall of Gloucester
Rudhall of Gloucester was a family business of bell founders in the city of Gloucester, England, who between 1684 and 1835 cast more than 5,000 bells.
History
There had been a tradition of bell casting in Gloucester since before the 14th century ...
.[
]
Notable burials
Ann Fenwick of Hornby Hall was buried her with her parents in the middle aisle in 1777. She had been a leading Catholic in the area who had appealed to the House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
to claim her rights.
External features
In the churchyard is a sandstone sundial
A sundial is a horology, horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the position of the Sun, apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the ...
dating probably from the 18th century with a brass plate and gnomon
A gnomon (; ) is the part of a sundial that casts a shadow. The term is used for a variety of purposes in mathematics and other fields, typically to measure directions, position, or time.
History
A painted stick dating from 2300 BC that was ...
which is listed Grade II. Also listed Grade II are the Hodgson tomb chest dating from the early 18th century, and part of the churchyard wall, the steps leading to the gate and the gate piers. In the southwest corner of the churchyard is the war grave
A war grave is a burial place for members of the armed forces or civilians who died during military campaigns or operations.
Definition
The term "war grave" does not only apply to graves: ships sunk during wartime are often considered to b ...
of a World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
airman
An airman is a member of an air force or air arm of a nation's armed forces. In certain air forces, it can also refer to a specific enlisted rank. An airman can also be referred to as a soldier in other definitions. As a military rank designat ...
.
See also
* Grade I listed buildings in Lancashire
* Grade I listed churches in Lancashire
*Listed buildings in Melling-with-Wrayton
Melling-with-Wrayton is a Civil parishes in England, civil parish in City of Lancaster, Lancaster, Lancashire, England. It contains 22 Listed building#England and Wales, listed buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England ...
* List of works by Paley, Austin and Paley
* Scheduled monuments in Lancashire
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Melling, St Wilfrid's Church
Church of England church buildings in Lancashire
Grade I listed churches in Lancashire
English Gothic architecture in Lancashire
Gothic Revival architecture in Lancashire
Diocese of Blackburn
Churches in the City of Lancaster