Cross Stone: St Paul
Overview
Grid reference: SD 946 248
Cross Stone is in the lancet style, with single tall lancets in each of the five bays of the nave, the bays separated by tall thin buttresses which perform scarcely any structural function. The whole building stands above a simple moulded plinth. At the west end of the north wall is a small porch and each side of the three lancets which form the east window are further porches, all with square pinnacles with ungainly cross-gabled tops which are miniature versions of those at the angles of the main building. The composition of the east wall, being the first part of the church to be seen, is quite successful. The only carved detail consists of leaves at the stops on the window labels.
Visiting and facilities
Building is closed for worship
Building
Ground Plan Description and Dimensions
Ground plan:
West tower, nave without aisles but with north-west porch. No structural chancel but a pair of eastern porches.
Description of Archaeology and History
By Thomas Pickersgill and Matthew Oates; the foundation stone was laid on 31 May 1833 and the church was finished by 31 March 1835. It replaced a smaller earlier building with west bell cote, and many of the ledgers in the churchyard pre-date the present building. The tower was struck by lightning in 1838 on the day of the Queen's coronation.
Exterior Description
Cross Stone is in the lancet style, with single tall lancets in each of the five bays of the nave, the bays separated by tall thin buttresses which perform scarcely any structural function. The whole building stands above a simple moulded plinth. At the west end of the north wall is a small porch and each side of the three lancets which form the east window are further porches, all with square pinnacles with ungainly cross-gabled tops which are minature versions of those at the angles of the main building. The composition of the east wall, being the first part of the church to be seen, is quite successful. The only carved detail consists of leaves at the stops on the window labels.
At the west end is a tower with a door on the south side leading to a spiral staircase serving the gallery within. This is lit by a tall lancet in the west wall identical to those of the nave. The next stage has lancets to south, west and north, and the shallow third stage a clock face in each direction. The top stage has louvred lancets similar in design to those of the nave wall facing each of the cardinal directions. The buttresses at each angle have boldly cutlined off-sets and rise above the parapet into big crocketted pinnacles with solidly foliated tops, tethered by iron stays.
Building Fabric and Features
Stained Glass
c.1860
East window: three lights, scenes in panels against grisaille in the style of Wailes.
Stained Glass
1918
North wall I: The Transfiguration by Heaton, Butler and Bayne.
Stained Glass
c.1910
North Wall II: Elijah, by Jones and Willis.
Stained Glass
1911
South Wall I: The Light of the World, by Heaton, Butler and Bayne, with Christ and the Doctors below.
Stained Glass
1899
South wall II : St. Paul with The Healing of the Cripple at Lystra below, by Kempe.
Stained Glass
c.1910
South wall III: One Like unto the Son of Man (Rev. i 13-20), with The Marys at the Sepulchre below, by Heaton, Butler and Bayne.
Interior
Interior Description
The interior of the church has been much altered from its original state in order to bring it into line with later nineteenth-century liturgical practice. The pulpit, which was central, was removed and replaced by one on the south side and screens were provided, together with a reredos, over a period of years to give the impression of a chancel with a chapel on the north and an organ on a gallery on the south. The west gallery also seems to have received a new arcaded front or to have been rebuilt altogether in order to match the Perpendicular style of these later alterations. It is a simple rectangular room covered by a curved boarded ceiling which has some pretensions to being a hammerbeam roof with projecting brackets along the north and south walls. At the west a door leads into the stair case in the tower. This is an elegant design, somewhat impaired by later boarding placed over the iron bannisters of the handrail and by a water pump at the foot. A door to the churchyard saved those who sat in the gallery from mingling with the worshippers on the ground floor. The ground floor has arcaded dado panelling all round and the floor itself is on two levels with two steps leading up halfway back in the nave.
Fixtures and fittings
Reredos
c.1910
The reredos is of oak, in a complicated Perpendicular style, incorporating three oil paintings, one of The Ascension and two of Christ the Good Shepherd.
Pulpit
1889
The pulpit is of oak on a stone base, Perpendicular in style, an open octagon with much cusping.
Lectern
c.1880
The lectern is of oak, an eagle on an elaborate traceried pedestal.
Font (object)
1906
The font roplaces one now in the churchyard; it dates from 1906 and is of stone in a robust style with symbols in quatrefoils round the bowl and three attached colonettes at each corner. The flat ock cover has ironwork with a central cross.
Churchyard
Grid reference: SD 946 248
Burial and War Grave Information
It is unknown whether the building is consecrated.
It is unknown whether the churchyard has been used for burial.
It is unknown whether the churchyard is used for burial.
It is unknown whether the churchyard has war graves.
National Heritage record for England designations
There are no records of National Heritage assets within the curtilage of this site.
Environment
Ancient, Veteran & Notable Trees
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
There are no records of Ancient, Veteran or Notable Trees within the curtilage of this site.
Renewables
| Renewable | Installed |
|---|---|
| Solar PV Panels | N/A |
| Solar Thermal Panels | N/A |
| Biomass | N/A |
| Wind Turbine | N/A |
| Air Source Heat Pump | N/A |
| Ground Source Heat Pump | N/A |
| Ev Charging | N/A |
Species summary
There are no records of species within the curtilage of this site.
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
'Seek advice' Species
More information on species and action to be taken upon discovery.
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
Further information
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