The Guildhall, formerly Holy Trinity Church, is a

redundant church A redundant church, now referred to as a "closed church", is a church building that is no longer used for Christian worship. The term most frequently refers to former Anglican churches in the United Kingdom, but may also be used for disused churc ...

in Watergate in the city of

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county tow ...

, 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, a ...

as a designated Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. The church closed in 1960, became known as the Guildhall, and was converted to be used for secular purposes.

History

The original building, which had a north

aisle An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parl ...

, probably dated from the late 12th century. The east end and south side were rebuilt in 1678. This church had a spire which was rebuilt in the 1770s but in 1811 was taken down for reasons of safety. The present church was built between 1865 and 1869 to a design by James Harrison. He died before it was finished and the church was completed by the firm of Kelly and Edwards of Chester. After the church reconsecrated in 1960, it was taken on by the Freemen and Guilds of the City of Chester in the late 1960s and converted into two halls, the Major Hall and the Lower Hall, for a variety of secular uses, including conferences, receptions, dances, and concerts. In October 2011 the Freemen and Guilds of the City of Chester handed responsibility for the building back to the local council but secured continued access for banquets and other important functions. A new members' bar, branded as "The Guild Chester", opened in the guildhall in October 2019.

Architecture

Exterior

It is built in red

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

with grey

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

roofs. Its plan consists of a continuous nave and

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...

with a

clerestory In architecture, a clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey) is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both. Historically, ''clerestory'' denoted an upper l ...

, a west porch, a detached south spire and porch, and a

vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquiall ...

to the south. The tower has three stages with double doors to the east and above this a relief sculpture of Christ enthroned. The second stage has a

lancet window A lancet window is a tall, narrow window with a pointed arch at its top. It acquired the "lancet" name from its resemblance to a lance. Instances of this architectural element are typical of Gothic church edifices of the earliest period. Lancet ...

and clock faces to the east and south. The third stage has two-light bell-openings, corner

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 buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral (s ...

es, a pierced

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the 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/breast'). Wh ...

and a recessed octagonal stone spire with three

lucarne In general architecture a lucarne is a term used to describe a dormer window. The original term french: lucarne refers to a dormer window, usually set into the middle of a roof although it can also apply to a façade lucarne, where the gable of ...

s to each face.

Interior

Most of the fittings have been removed. The east window, dated 1885, is by Kempe, and depicts God and major

Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...

figures and saints. Now hidden by flooring is a memorial to John Whitmore who died in 1374. The former chancel screen and the

reredos A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular architecture, for e ...

are also hidden. There is a burial vault under the building which dates back to when the church was built.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chester, Holy Trinity Church Former Church of England church buildings Grade II listed churches in Cheshire Church of England church buildings in Cheshire 19th-century Church of England church buildings Gothic Revival architecture in Cheshire Churches completed in 1869

Guildhall A guildhall, also known as a "guild hall" or "guild house", is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commonly become town halls and in som ...

Redundant churches James Harrison buildings 1869 establishments in England Churches in Chester

History

Architecture

Exterior

Interior

See also

References