The Church of St James and St Paul, south of the village of Marton,

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

, England, is an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

church founded in the 14th century and 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, ...

as a designated Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. It is an active

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), 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 com ...

in 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 aArchdeaconry of Macclesfield and the Deanery of Congleton. Its

benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

is combined with those of Holy Trinity, Capesthorne, Christ Church, Eaton, and All Saints, Siddington. The church is an important location in the novel '' Strandloper'' by

Alan Garner Alan Garner (born 17 October 1934) is an English novelist best known for his children's fantasy novels and his retellings of traditional British folk tales. Much of his work is rooted in the landscape, history and folklore of his native count ...

. The church differs from the majority of churches in Cheshire in that its body is

timber-framed Timber framing () and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy Beam (structure), timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and Woodworking joints, joined timbers with joints secure ...

. It is one of the oldest timber-framed churches in Europe. Only a handful of churches of this type remain in England; other surviving examples include churches at Lower Peover and

Baddiley Baddiley is a scattered settlement and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The civil parish also includes the north-western part of the village of Rave ...

(Cheshire),

Melverley Melverley is a village in Shropshire, England, situated on the River Severn and the River Vyrnwy, near the Powys hills and the border with Wales. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 156. The village, and the large rural ...

(

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

), Besford (

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

) and

Hartley Wespall Hartley Wespall is a village and civil parish in the Basingstoke and Deane district of Hampshire, England. It is near the larger village of Hook, which lies approximately 2.5 miles (4.1 km) south-west from the hamlet. St.Mary Church is fl ...

(

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

History

The church was founded and

endowed A financial endowment is a legal structure for managing, and in many cases indefinitely perpetuating, a pool of financial, real estate, or other investments for a specific purpose according to the will of its founders and donors. Endowments are ...

in 1343 by Sir John de Davenport and his son Vivian. Further land was donated by the family in 1370. The

belfry The belfry /ˈbɛlfri/ is a structure enclosing bells for ringing as part of a building, usually as part of a bell tower or steeple. It can also refer to the entire tower or building, particularly in continental Europe for such a tower attached ...

was added subsequently; it dates from around 1540. The roof was lowered in 1804. Restorations were carried out by J. M. Derick in 1850 and

William Butterfield William Butterfield (7 September 1814 – 23 February 1900) was a British Gothic Revival architect and associated with the Oxford Movement (or Tractarian Movement). He is noted for his use of polychromy. Biography William Butterfield was bo ...

in 1871. Derick replaced two-light windows with windows of three lights. Butterfield tidied some of the timbers in the tower. At that time, the existing entrance at the west end was also added. Further restoration was carried out in 1930–31, including renewal of some wall panels, rafters and belfry shingles. A brick extension to the

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

was constructed in the 20th century.

Architecture

Exterior

The timber frame features

close studding Close studding is a form of timber work used in timber-framed buildings in which vertical timbers ( studs) are set close together, dividing the wall into narrow panels. Rather than being a structural feature, the primary aim of close studding is ...

with a middle rail. It rests on a stone

plinth A pedestal or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In civil engineering, it is also called ''basement''. The minimum height o ...

, the infill is rendered brick and the roof is of

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 ro ...

. At the west end is a shingled square tower with a shingled

broach spire A broach spire is a type of spire (tall pyramidal structure), which usually sits atop a tower or turret of a church. It starts on a square base and is carried up to a tapering octagonal spire by means of triangular faces. File:Leicester Cathedral ...

ending in a weather cock. This is surrounded by lean-to roofed

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

s on the north, west and south sides. The tower has a western arched door with a 20th-century door which incorporates 17th-century iron strap hinges. The body of the church consists of a three-

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

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 ...

with north and south aisles, a two-bay chancel and north and south chapels at the ends of the aisles, and a south porch. The former Principal Historic Buildings Officer for Cheshire County Council described the exterior as "disappointing" and considered that 19th-century alterations "have tended to detract from its external medieval appearance", but noted that "internally it has a great deal of character and interest."

Interior

The timber

piers Piers may refer to: * Pier, a raised structure over a body of water * Pier (architecture), an architectural support * Piers (name), a given name and surname (including lists of people with the name) * Piers baronets, two titles, in the baronetages ...

are octagonal in shape. Two damaged stone

effigies An effigy is a sculptural representation, often life-size, of a specific person or a prototypical figure. The term is mostly used for the makeshift dummies used for symbolic punishment in political protests and for the figures burned in certain ...

of 14th-century

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

s are in the belfry; the heads rest on the Davenport crest, suggesting the figures might depict the church's founders, John and Vivian de Davenport. The

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, accesse ...

carries a

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

and dates from 1620. There are three surviving bells, the oldest being inscribed 'God Save the Queen and Realme 1598'. Other features include an

Elizabethan The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of Britannia (a female per ...

parish

chest The thorax (: thoraces or thoraxes) or chest is a part of the anatomy of mammals and other tetrapod animals located between the neck and the abdomen. In insects, crustaceans, and the extinct trilobites, the thorax is one of the three main di ...

and an ancient handmade wooden ladder accessing the bell-ringing platform. The organ was built in 1894 by A. Worral. The ring consists of six bells, three of which are dated 1598, 1663 and 1758. The parish registers begin in 1563. Inside the church are traces of some early

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

paintings on the west wall, which were discovered under plaster in 1930. The painting, which probably represents the

Last Judgement The Last Judgment is a concept found across the Abrahamic religions and the '' Frashokereti'' of Zoroastrianism. Christianity considers the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to entail the final judgment by God of all people who have ever lived, res ...

(a common subject of medieval church paintings), is divided into sections by the timbering. A haloed male figure with long yellow hair at the top right possibly represents

Christ Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...

, and a haloed kneeling female figure opposite might represent the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

. The bottom left panel contains figures with raised hands mainly looking towards the viewer; these possibly represent souls under judgement. Other figures carry items, perhaps instruments of the

Passion Passion, the Passion or the Passions may refer to: Emotion * Passion (emotion), a very strong feeling about a person or thing * Passions (philosophy), emotional states as used in philosophical discussions * Stoic passions, various forms of emotio ...

. Also in the church is an 18th-century oil painting by Edward Penney of

Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...

and

Aaron According to the Old Testament of the Bible, Aaron ( or ) was an Israelite prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of Moses. Information about Aaron comes exclusively from religious texts, such as the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament ...

holding the

Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (), or the Decalogue (from Latin , from Ancient Greek , ), are religious and ethical directives, structured as a covenant document, that, according to the Hebrew Bible, were given by YHWH to Moses. The text of the Ten ...

External features

In the churchyard is a cross dating from the 14th or 15th century which has been subsequently restored. It is listed Grade II. The churchyard also contains the war graves of two soldiers of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

References

External links

Information about the stained glass from the Corpus Vitrearum Medii Aevi (CVMA) of Great Britain
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marton, Saints James and Paul 14th-century church buildings in England Church of England church buildings in Cheshire Grade I listed churches in Cheshire Diocese of Chester Timber framed buildings in Cheshire Timber-framed churches Wooden churches in England