St Helen's Church, Trowell is a Grade II* listed Anglican parish church in

Trowell Trowell is a village and civil parish in Nottinghamshire, England. It lies a few miles west of Nottingham, in the borough of Broxtowe on the border with Derbyshire. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,568, falling to 2,378 at ...

, Nottinghamshire, England.

History

The first record of a church in

is from 801, when a wooden church was built. The present Early English

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 ...

was built in 1080, and the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...

says "Here is a priest and half a church and six acres of meadow." Much of the current church dates from the 13th century, with the tower having been added in 1480. A

Victorian restoration The Victorian restoration was the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria. It was not the same proc ...

was undertaken in 1890 by

Charles Hodgson Fowler Charles Hodgson Fowler (2 March 1840 – 14 December 1910) was a prolific English ecclesiastical architect who specialised in building and, especially, restoring churches. Life He was born in Nottinghamshire, the son of Robert Hodgson Fowler ...

at a cost of £1,500. From 2016 a renewal project was supported by public donations to replace the heating system. It reopened in 2018 but further work was planned to improve the power supply and lighting. The

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

parish of Trowell is part of a benefice with St Peter's Church, Awsworth and St Catherine's Church, Cossall within the

Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham The Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham is a Church of England diocese in the Province of York, headed by the Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham. It covers all the English county of Nottinghamshire and a few parishes in South Yorkshire. It is bo ...

Architecture

The

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 ...

building consists of a three- 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 ...

, two-bay

, three-bay 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 porch on the south side. The two-stage west tower has a

crenelated A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interv ...

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'). ...

and is supported by four 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 ( ...

es. The stained glass includes a window by

Charles Eamer Kempe Charles Eamer Kempe (29 June 1837 – 29 April 1907) was a British Victorian era designer and manufacturer of stained glass. His studios produced over 4,000 windows and also designs for altars and altar frontals, furniture and furnishings, lich ...

. The octagonal font dates from the 15th century.

Organ

The organ is by Brindley and Foster. It was installed in 1900 and funded by William Smith, a local miller. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.

Clock

The clock on the tower was built in 1881 for the

Nottingham Exchange Nottingham Exchange was built in the Market Place in Nottingham between 1724 and 1726 as the main offices of the Nottingham Corporation. History The Nottingham Exchange was erected between 1724 and 1726 replacing a shambles of buildings on the ...

by G. & F. Cope and moved here in 1927.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trowell Church of England church buildings in Nottinghamshire Grade II* listed churches in Nottinghamshire