St Chad's Church is an

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

church on Hunter Street in

Burton upon Trent Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a market town in the borough of East Staffordshire in the county of Staffordshire, England, close to the border with Derbyshire. In United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011, it had a ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

, England. It is in the

diocese of Lichfield The Diocese of Lichfield is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury, England. The bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Chad in the city of Lichfield. The diocese covers of seve ...

and the

advowson Advowson () or patronage is the right in English law of a patron (avowee) to present to the diocesan bishop (or in some cases the ordinary if not the same person) a nominee for appointment to a vacant ecclesiastical benefice or church living, ...

is vested in the

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

. In 1979 the church was registered as a

Grade I 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 ...

History

It was a gift to the town by

Michael Bass, 1st Baron Burton Michael Arthur Bass, 1st Baron Burton, KCVO (12 November 1837 – 1 February 1909), known as Sir Michael Arthur Bass, 1st Baronet, from 1882 to 1886, was a British brewer, Liberal politician and philanthropist. He sat in the House of Commons ...

at a cost of £38,000. The architect was

George Frederick Bodley George Frederick Bodley (14 March 182721 October 1907) was an English Gothic Revival architect. He was a pupil of Sir George Gilbert Scott, and worked in partnership with Thomas Garner for much of his career. He was one of the founders of Watt ...

but he died before the church was completed and it was finished by his partner

Cecil Greenwood Hare Cecil Greenwood Hare (1875 – 14 July 1932) was an architect and designer based in England. Life He was born in Stamford, Lincolnshire in 1875, the son of John Thomas Hare (1844-1902) and Mary Ann. Bodley and Hare Hare was a pupil of the arch ...

. Work started in 1905 and the church dedication to Saint Chad of Mercia took place in 1910.

The building

The church was designed in the

Decorated style English Gothic is an architectural style that flourished from the late 12th until the mid-17th century. The style was most prominently used in the construction of cathedrals and churches. Gothic architecture's defining features are pointed ar ...

and built of red Hollington stone. The building includes a polygonal vestry and a detached north-west tower linked to the body of the church by a vaulted passage. There is a fine Bodley

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 ex ...

in the north chapel. It has been described by

Nikolaus Pevsner Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (1 ...

as "the finest building by far in Burton-on-Trent" and in the listing text as "one of Bodley's best later works".

Organ

The organ inside the church is a three manual organ built by Peter Conacher and Co of Huddersfield (installed by 1909). The organ has 32 stops and consists of a swell, great, choir and pedal organ. The organ has a stop key system and has pure tin pipes which gives it a sweet sound. Burton upon Trent, St

Tower

The tower was intended to house a

peal In campanology (bell ringing), a peal is the special name given to a specific type of performance of change ringing which meets certain exacting conditions for duration, complexity and quality. The definition of a peal has changed considerably o ...

of eight bells. The frame was installed circa 1909 along with just one bell. The bell and frame were made by

John Taylor & Co John Taylor Bell Foundry (Loughborough) Limited, trading as John Taylor & Co and commonly known as Taylor's Bell Foundry, Taylor's of Loughborough, or simply Taylor's, is the world's largest working bell foundry. It is located in Loughborough, ...

of Loughborough; the frame is a two-tier H frame with sub A frames on top. The bell that Taylors cast was the tenor bell which weighed 21-1-8 cwt and was tuned to the note of E. In 1999 Christchurch church at Newchurch near Burton upon Trent became redundant, and the six bells in it were put up for sale; the then vicar of St Chad's, Paul Skillings, put in a successful bid. The bells went back to Taylors for refurbishment and two new trebles were cast to take the peal up to an eight; one bell was donated by local football club

Burton Albion F.C. Burton Albion Football Club is a professional association football club in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club moved its home groun ...

whose ground is in the parish. The new eight became a 13 cwt ring in the key of G. However, due to this the bell that was already in the tower was incompatible, and it was decided to sell the bell. Finally in 2000 the church had a peal of eight bells after ninety years.

Timeline

* 1903 Initial designs completed by Bodley * 1907 Death of Bodley * 1909 Church completed * 1910 Church consecrated by the

Bishop of Lichfield The Bishop of Lichfield is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Lichfield in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers 4,516 km2 (1,744 sq. mi.) of the counties of Powys, Staffordshire, Shropshire, Warwickshire and West Mi ...

on 6 July * 1960 Reredos executed by Bridgeman of Lichfield.

Gallery

Image:StChadBurton2.JPG, Image:StChadBurton3.JPG, Image:StChadBurton4.JPG, Image:StChadBurton5.JPG, Image:StChadBurton6.JPG, Image:StChadBurton8.JPG, Image:StChadBurton9.JPG,

References

Sources

*Church guidebook. C. Mansfield. 2006. *''

The Buildings of England ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

, Staffordshire''. Pevsner.
British History Online 'Horninglow: Established church', ''A History of the County of Stafford'': Volume 9: Burton-upon-Trent (2003), pp. 185-187.

External links

* http://www.stchadsburton.org.uk/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Burton upon Trent, Saint Chad's Tourist attractions in Staffordshire Church of England church buildings in the Borough of East Staffordshire Saint Chad's Church Grade I listed churches in Staffordshire George Frederick Bodley church buildings Gothic Revival architecture in Staffordshire