Crumpsall: St Mary
Overview
Grid reference: SD 839 21
The exterior achieves its effect more by mass than detail, the tower and spire being particularly exemplary in this respect; the features are subordinate to the general shape which is itself plain and uncompromising. The tower rises through four unequal stages of which the lowest contains the unemphatic twofold doorway under an arch, and the next has a large four-light window with Geometric tracery incorporating an octofoil.
Visiting and facilities
Building is closed for worship
Building
Ground Plan Description and Dimensions
Ground plan:
West tower and spire, aisled nave of five bays with south porch; chancel of three bays with north transept containing the organ and vestries and the south transept a chapel.
Description of Archaeology and History
By Joseph Stretch Crowther who died in 1893. The church was built in 1875 as an enlargement of a church which had been destroyed by fire in 1872; of the earlier church (which seems to have been only about twenty years old) nothing remains except some fragments incorporated within the walls of the present tower.
Exterior Description
Faced on the exterior with rock-cut stone laid in neatly squared courses. Faced internally with brick, banded with stone. Dressings both inside and out of ashlar masonry.
The exterior achieves its effect more by mass than detail, the tower and spire being particularly exemplary in this respect; the features are subordinate to the general shape which is itself plain and uncompromising. The tower rises through four unequal stages of which the lowest contains the unemphatic twofold doorway under an arch, and the next has a large four-light window with Geometric tracery incorporating an octofoil.
These two stages are flanked by meanly thin buttresses terminating in gablets with crockets and gargoyles each side of the clock face which is set within a scalloped stone roundel above the window. The side walls of the tower have no features at all below the clock face, above which the features correspond with those on the west face. That is to say, the next stage, a shallow one, has three small lancets in each wall to light the chamber within, and the stage above that has pairs of coupled bell-openings.
The spire rises abruptly above this, with no parapet. The broaches are unadorned and the spire is faced with smooth ashlar save for three diminishing tiers of lucarnes. These features taken together give a strong sense of uninterrupted vertical thrust.
The rest of the exterior of the church is much as might be expected, with Geometrical tracery throughout. The clerestory had eight bays divided by pilaster strips, each containing two- light windows with either quatrefoils of sexfoils above the main lights. The south aisle has the same system of windows, but the north is different, with paired lights in each bay surmounted by double dripstones. The bays are divided by gabled buttresses.
Building Fabric and Features
Stained Glass
The east window: In the tracery is Ezekiel's vision, and below are five scenes in the Life of Christ relating to the Virgin Mary (to whom the church is dedicated). The Annunciation, The Purification, The House in Nazareth, The Miracle at Cana and The Crucifixion. In the lower part the five predella panels are filled with one scene The Nativity, with the shepherds and Wise Men.
Stained Glass
North wall: The Transfiguration
Stained Glass
North Wall: The Good Shepherd
Stained Glass
South Wall: The Ascension
Stained Glass
Organ Chamber (obscured by the instrument) St. Cecilia
Stained Glass
c.1920
South Transeptal Chapel: Christ flanked by St. Michael and St. George: c. 1920, large standing figures under canopies.
Stained Glass
West window: four lights depicting the Resurrection.
Stained Glass
c.1910
The north aisle has five windows of paired lights with large figures of prophets, kings, judges and priests by Percy Bacon of Newman Street, London.
Stained Glass
c.1880
The eastern window of the north aisle: Building the Temple
Stained Glass
c.1880
The west window of the north aisle: Miracles of Healing, the scenes in panels on bright foliage background
Stained Glass
The west window of the south aisle: Christ with Children
Stained Glass
South aisle I ( by the Font): The Annunciation, a good window with large figures in the style of Burne- Jones.
Stained Glass
The south aisle has five windows illustrating the works of Christ: all are panels set in grisaille, rather like the chancel south-east window.
Stained Glass
c.1905-13
In the clerestory is a set of windows showing Saints thirty-two in all, c . 1905-13 by H. Gustave Hiller of Liverpool .
Interior
Interior Description
The design of the interior of the church is a typical product of Tractarian idealism. Although the nave and chancel are both tall and wide, the eye is drawn to the altar below the tall east window and to the cross, framed by a gablet set above the continuous arches of the reredos. There is greater evidence of attention to detail inside the church than could be seen outside; both the architecture and the fittings can only be described as lavish, and the fact that there is stained glass in every window including the clerestory gives the church an agreeably calm atmosphere.
The bays of the clerestory and aisles were seen outside to correspond, but internally the arcade of the nave, which is usually taken to delineate the bays, has only five arches compared with the eight of the other two orders. The lack of harmony gives an unsettling effect because the bays do not coincide; moreover the timbers of the roof are carried on small attached shafts between the clerestory windows which draw attention to the discrepancy. In a building with such an emphasis on height and vertical lines, this is especially surprising.
The piers of the nave arcade are of quadripartite section, with simply moulded arly English capitals and bases. Lively carved heads form the label stops here and at the clerostory windows. The arches are of two chanfered orders, very tall and wide. Above a stringcourse are the attached shafts which support the timbers of the principal rafters. These are carried on solid brackets which give a suggestion of hammerbeams, and alternate bays have cross beams, kept to a minimum in order to avoid too much horizontal emphasis. The pitch of the roof is very steep, and the mediaeval quality is borne out by the arched window braces. The aisle roofs are less steep, and thus allow for the walls to be tall with windows of reasonable height, a good feature of the design..
The west wall of the nave which contains the tower arch (again very tall and thin) has two tall buttress-like structures which are the former abutments of the arcade of the previous church, showing that it was much narrower than the present building.
The alleys are floored with stone flags, the heating grilles along the central one sensibly arranged in alternating squares to reduce the effect often seen elsewhere of a line of ironwork from the west to the east end of the building.
The chancel arch is almost as wide as the nave, of three recessed orders carried upon shafts of great height with foliated capitals. The roof structure of the chancel beyond repeats that of the nave (but without any crossbeams), so that the arch is a minimal incident as the eye travels towards the east end of the church. Its form is echoed in the similar arch of the east window.
The chancel is designed in a richer manner than the nave, with a greater abundance of carved ornamentation. On each side in the west bay a double arch opens.
Fixtures and fittings
Pulpit
1879
The Pulpit was presented in 1879, round in plan and carried on a drum surrounded by granite colonettes. The upper part has open arcades of three arches separated by more polished granite colonettes. The foliage which is used in two bands is of deeply undercut stiff-leaf variety, very rich.
Rail
The Communion Rails are of solid brass, a continuous arcade of Gothic arches above a series of panels filled with running foliate ornament.
Screen
1921
The Screen dates from 1921, and is of excellent workmanship, with matching gates across the entry. It consists of a row of sexfoils within square panels and anthemion-like finials at intervals.
Lectern
The Lectern is a fine brass eagle on a pedestal carried on feet in the shape of three lions.
Organ (object)
The organ was rebuilt by Binns in 1960 and is a three manual and pedal instrument of forty speaking stops.
Font (object)
The Font is octagonal, quite massive and made of polished marble. Alternate faces are decorated with symbols such as the Cross and a fleur- de-lys.
Clock
1876
Churchyard
Grid reference: SD 839 21
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
Submit a change
If you notice something incorrect or missing, please explain it in the form below and submit it to our team for review.