Diameter: 30" Bell 1 of 1
Founded by Naylor, Vickers & Co
Dove Bell ID: 58899 Tower ID: 22855 - View Tower Listed: No Canons: Removed Cracked: No
Prestolee: Holy Trinity
Diocese of Manchester
Church, 624250
This church is on the Heritage at Risk Register (verified 2024-11-14)
View more information about this church on the Heritage at Risk website
Overview
Grid reference: SD 755 57
A large early Victorian Gothic church of stone, set within a small churchyard in an open space on the eastern edge of a grid of modest conteporary terraced houses which, together with the mill they were built to serve, form Prestolee. Built 1859-62 and designed by George Shaw. The church is broadly designed in the Early Decorated style, but somewhat unorthodox, for example the proportions and massing are quite old-fashioned for the time.
Visiting and facilities
Building is open for worship
Building
Ground Plan Description and Dimensions
Ground plan:
4-bay aisled nave with transepts, tower adjacent to the south transept, 2-bay chancel with north vestry.
Dimensions:
Nave c 25m (85 ft) x 6m (19ft), transepts 8.5m (27ft) wide.
Footprint of Church buildings: 546 m²
Description of Archaeology and History
Built 1859-62 and designed by George Shaw. Shaw employed a carver who specialised in the Celtic-Romanesque detail seen in many of the furnishings and fittings. It was clearly a quite expensive and ambitious commission, the donor was W J Rideout.
The west end was reordered in 1995 to provide rooms behind a glazed screen in the two western bays, with toilets, a kitchen and a meeting room, and a nave altar has been installed.
Exterior Description
The church is broadly designed in the Early Decorated style, but somewhat unorthodox, for example the proportions and massing are quite old-fashioned for the time. The location of the tower is particularly odd, crammed in the angle between the nave and south transept. This is like its north counterpart as long as the chancel and, following the internal division, the nave, making of the worship space a Greek cross in plan. Despite the height of the spire, the church is solid rather than graceful.
The huge and heavy tower is the dominant feature, with a broad base and angle buttresses with steep weatherings tapering to the very tall broach spire. It has a raked external staircase with carved panels of reversed S-shapes in roundels echoing the window tracery on the west and south sides. The staircase leads to a high level door in the west face, passing through the buttress on the way. Some movement is visible here with cracks and spalling where the iron cramps are rusting. The south “show” face has a 2-light as in the nave over a small rectangular entrance in the lower stage, two plain 2-lights with pointed cusped heads in the stage above, then a clock (face removed to each face) below the belfry with three plain lancet openings, each stage defined by drip-courses.
The nave has buttresses with one steep weathering flanking 2-light pointed windows with simple cusped lights and quatrefoils in the heads as has the chancel south wall, the transepts have a plain 2-light window to each bay as the tower. There is a pointed doorway in the south nave wall with hoodmould, the main entrance, and simpler one opposite in the north wall.
There is more complex tracery making much use of mouchettes in the heads to create “swirling” patterns echoing the external staircase in the transept end walls, the west nave window (all 4-lights) and the east chancel window. These cardinal windows all have striking stained glass. The vestry in the angle of north transept and chancel has a 4-light in the east wall of equal lancets and a tall slim stack.
Building Fabric and Features
Stained Glass
Late 19th Century
East window, the Crucifixion. Extremely expressive central scene (to the point of creating unease), note also the Roman soldiers playing dice for Christ’s possessions. After 1858.
Stained Glass
1868
Arming of David by Jonathan and their reunion years later (1 Samuel 18:2-4, 20:41), in memory of Howard Barlow 1868
Stained Glass
Late 19th Century
The west window, Adoration of the Magi and Shepherds, symbols of the four Evangelists in the lower tier, angels above. After 1860
Stained Glass
1863
North transept, Suffer the children in memory of Jane Compton given by W J Rideout her nephew (and the patron)
Building Materials
Sandstone
1859-62
Sandstone
Slate
1859-62
Slate
Interior
Interior Description
The interior is plastered and whitewashed, catching the light passing through the luminous stained glass windows at the cardinal points, the effect slightly lessened by the west conversion. Fine and complex false hammer-beam timber roofs throughout taken down to plain corbels. The nave roof is carried by slender round columns with moulded capitals and double-chamfered pointed arches. Carpeted floors in blue, red in the chancel, stone flags under these, geometrical tiles in the sanctuary.
The nave is still fully pewed with dark-stained benches with plain moulded ends, such are also found in the transepts, facing inwards to the crossing. There is a simple pointed doorway to the tower and two blocked pointed window openings. The font is now in the north transept. As already noted the western two bays are taken up by a conversion behind a glazed timber screen.
The integral pulpit is reached through steps from the vestry behind to a pointed opening in the wall adjacent to the chancel arch. This is double chamfered, taken down to moulded capitals with foliate carving. There is a scrolled text in Gothic script around the arch (“Oh worship the Lord in the beauty of Holiness” Psalm 96:9). The oak choir stalls are of good quality, with tracery and poppyheads to the ends, clearly part of the original design. These and the High altar table are now “relegated” behind the nave altar, which is set on a platform extending from the chancel arch. Shouldered doorway to the vestry in the north wall.
Fixtures and fittings
Altar
1862
Oak table in chancel with richly carved tracery, part of the original design.
Altar
Light-stained modern chest to the nave altar.
Pulpit
1862
Square, structurally integral oak pulpit with open tracery and moulded cornice on coved stone corbel.
Lectern
Light wood, plain, modern
Font (object)
Circular neo-Norman font with arcading on the bowl and interlace carving round the stem and base. Modern wooden lid with figure handle.
Rail
1862
Oak, tracery pierced screen with heavy moulded rail.
Bells
Churchyard
Grid reference: SD 755 57
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 | No |
| Solar Thermal Panels | No |
| Biomass | No |
| Wind Turbine | No |
| Air Source Heat Pump | No |
| Ground Source Heat Pump | No |
| Ev Charging | No |
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
Sources
Showing 6 entries of 6 View All
Quinquennial Inspections
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.