Christ Church is in Christchurch Road, Oxton,

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...

, Wirral,

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Mersey Estuary and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wi ...

, England. It is an active Anglican

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

in the deanery of Birkenhead, the archdeaconry of Chester, and the

diocese of Chester The Diocese of Chester is a Church of England diocese in the Province of York covering the pre-1974 county of Cheshire and therefore including the Wirral and parts of Stockport, Trafford and Tameside. History Ancient diocese Before the si ...

. The church 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 ...

. It stands on a sloping site.

History

Christ Church was built between 1844 and 1849, and was designed by William Jearrad. It cost £9,000 to build (equivalent to £ in ), and was opened for worship on 25 February 1849, although it was not consecrated until 3 March 1854, this ceremony being conducted by the Rt Revd John Graham,

bishop of Chester The Bishop of Chester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chester in the Province of York. The diocese extends across most of the historic county boundaries of Cheshire, including the Wirral Peninsula and has its see in the ...

. The church provided seating for 1,209 people. Alterations were made at the east end between 1878 and 1880. Using the slope of the ground, two staircases were built to provide extra exits, and two rooms were added at the lower level. In 1881 the organ and the choir were moved from the west gallery, the organ to a new organ chamber in the south

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building wi ...

, and the choir to the

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. Ov ...

. The pulpit was lowered, and a clock was added to the spire. In 1992 the roof and ceiling were replaced, and the interior of the church was reorganised. The spire was damaged in a storm on Christmas Eve in 1997, and had to be rebuilt. A special edition of '' Songs of Praise'' was broadcast in November 2018 from the church to mark the centenary of the death of war poet

Wilfred Owen Wilfred Edward Salter Owen MC (18 March 1893 – 4 November 1918) was an English poet and soldier. He was one of the leading poets of the First World War. His war poetry on the horrors of trenches and gas warfare was much influenced b ...

who was a member of the congregation in his youth.

Architecture

Exterior

The church is constructed 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 ...

from local quarries. It is roofed in Welsh slate. The plan consists of a six- bay

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

, north and south

s, a chancel with north and south

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, par ...

s, and a west tower with a spire. The rooms under the east end of the church are used as an office, kitchen and toilets. The tower is in two stages, with a west door, over which is a quatrefoil and a clock face. The bell openings are paired, and on the tower is a broach spire with

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 t ...

s. Along the sides of the nave the bays are divided by

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 ( ...

es rising to pinnacles, and each bay contains a wide lancet window. The transepts have two bays and, because of the sloping ground, are in two storeys. There are five windows in each storey, and a rose window in the

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

above. At the corners of the east end are gabled projections containing stairs and a doorway. At the east end, the aisles have paired lancets, and a doorway at the lower level. The chancel east window consists of three stepped lancets, with a rose window above. Below these are triple lancets lighting the lower area.

Interior

Inside the church there are galleries at the west end and in the transepts. Many of the items of church furniture has been given as memorials. These include the font, the

lectern A lectern is a reading desk with a slanted top, on which documents or books are placed as support for reading aloud, as in a scripture reading, lecture, or sermon. A lectern is usually attached to a stand or affixed to some other form of support. ...

, and the pulpit. The pulpit was given in memory of two soldiers killed in the First World War, and includes in its carvings two soldiers kneeling at the foot of the cross in a

Crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagi ...

scene. Much of the stained glass, including that in the east window and on the north side of the church, was destroyed by a landmine during the Second World War. The current stained glass in the east window dates from 1951. The stained glass in the windows on the south side of the church was given as memorials; one of them depicts a scene from ''

The Pilgrim's Progress ''The Pilgrim's Progress from This World, to That Which Is to Come'' is a 1678 Christianity, Christian allegory written by John Bunyan. It is regarded as one of the most significant works of theological fiction in English literature and a prog ...

''.

Organ

The original pipe organ was built by

Henry Willis Henry Willis (27 April 1821 – 11 February 1901), also known as "Father" Willis, was an English organ player and builder, who is regarded as the foremost organ builder of the Victorian era. His company Henry Willis & Sons remains in busin ...

in about 1860. It had two manuals and was located in the west gallery. It was moved to the south transept in 1881. Here it was acoustically unsatisfactory, and additions, including a third manual, were made by Willis in 1888. Between that date and 1925 a vox humana stop was added by a builder other than Willis. In 1925 the organ was damaged by fire following a lightning strike. The successors of Willis repaired the damage and made further additions. The organ was not damaged by the land mine, and it was cleaned and overhauled in 1948, again by the Willis firm. A further overhaul took place in 1977 by

Rushworth and Dreaper Rushworth and Dreaper was a firm of organ builders, and later general instrument suppliers associated with Paul McCartney based in Liverpool. The manufacturer was founded in 1828 by William Rushworth, operating until 2002. Upon its liquidation, ...

References

External links

War memorials in Christ Church, Birkenhead
{{DEFAULTSORT:Birkenhead, Christ Church Christ Church Church of England church buildings in Merseyside Grade II listed churches in Merseyside Gothic Revival church buildings in England Gothic Revival architecture in Merseyside Diocese of Chester Churches completed in 1849 1849 establishments in England