Holy Trinity Church is in the village of Wray,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, England. It is an active

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 ...

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 deanery of Tunstall, the archdeaconry of Lancaster, and the diocese of Blackburn. 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 united with those of St Peter, Leck, St Wilfrid, Melling, St John, Tunstall, St James the Less, Tatham, and the Good Shepherd, Tatham Fells, Lowgill.

History

The church was built in 1839–40 and designed by the Lancaster architect Edmund Sharpe. Its cost was £2,021 (equivalent to £ in ). The foundation stone was laid on 28 May 1839, and the church was completed the following year, although it was not

consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

until 1 July 1841, when the

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 ...

performed the ceremony. In 1879–80 the church was enlarged by Sharpe's successors,

Paley and Austin Sharpe, Paley and Austin are the surnames of architects who practised in Lancaster, England, Lancaster, Lancashire, England, between 1835 and 1946, working either alone or in partnership. The full names of the principals in their practice, whi ...

, who rebuilt 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 ...

, reseated the church, and added an organ chamber and a porch at a cost of £1,307. In 1889 the same practice, now Austin, Paley and Austin, added a new nave roof, and altered the west elevation.

Architecture

Holy Trinity has 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 ...

, each bay containing a triple

lancet window A lancet window is a tall, narrow window with a sharp pointed arch at its top. This arch may or may not be a steep lancet arch (in which the compass centres for drawing the arch fall outside the opening). It acquired the "lancet" name from its rese ...

. At the west end are four lancets, one on each side and two over the entrance. The chancel, added by Paley and Austin, has two bays and a three-light east window containing Decorated

tracery Tracery is an architectural device by which windows (or screens, panels, and vaults) are divided into sections of various proportions by stone ''bars'' or ''ribs'' of moulding. Most commonly, it refers to the stonework elements that support th ...

. At the west end of the church is a double bellcote. Inside the church is a west gallery, containing the organ. The two- manual organ was made in 1879 by

Gray and Davison Gray & Davison was a large-scale manufacturer of church and cathedral pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurised air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a Musical keyboar ...

and overhauled in 1980 by R. D. and E. H. Holmes.

References

Citations Sources * * (Although this is self-published, it is a scholarly work and fully referenced throughout. As of 2011 it is available only as a CD.) *

History

Architecture

See also

References

Further reading