The Church of St Andrew,

Weston-under-Lizard Weston-under-Lizard is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Blymhill and Weston-under-Lizard, in the South Staffordshire district of Staffordshire, England. It is known as Weston-under-Lizard (the name of a hill in nearby S ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

is a

Grade I listed 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 ...

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. Its origins are

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 ...

, but it was largely rebuilt in the very early 18th century by Elizabeth Wilbraham of

Weston Park Weston Park is a country house in Weston-under-Lizard, Staffordshire, England, set in more than of park landscaped by Capability Brown. The park is located north-west of Wolverhampton, and east of Telford, close to the border with Shropshire ...

, and restored in the 19th century, firstly by

George Edmund Street George Edmund Street (20 June 1824 – 18 December 1881), also known as G. E. Street, was an English architect, born at Woodford in Essex. Stylistically, Street was a leading practitioner of the Victorian Gothic Revival. Though mainly an eccl ...

and then by

Ewan Christian Ewan Christian (1814–1895) was a British architect. He is most frequently noted for the restorations of Southwell Minster and Carlisle Cathedral, and the design of the National Portrait Gallery (London), National Portrait Gallery. He was Arch ...

. It remains a functioning parish church 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 ...

History

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with prot ...

records the foundation of the church as

. Pevsner describes the church as "an enterprise of Lady Wilbraham... f1700–1". This was Elizabeth Mytton, heiress of the Weston estate, who married Sir Thomas Wilbraham in 1651. A 2010 article in the ''

Architects' Journal ''Architects' Journal'' is a professional architecture magazine, published monthly in London by Metropolis International. Each issue includes in-depth features on relevant current affairs, alongside profiles of recently completed buildings. Ten t ...

'' by the historian John Millar, describes Elizabeth Wilbraham as "the first woman architect", and suggests that she may have undertaken designs for over 350 buildings, as well as tutoring and collaborating with

Christopher Wren Sir Christopher Wren FRS (; – ) was an English architect, astronomer, mathematician and physicist who was one of the most highly acclaimed architects in the history of England. Known for his work in the English Baroque style, he was ac ...

. Prevented by the conventions of the time for identifying as an architect, and from taking any public role in construction, Millar suggests that buildings attributed to architects such as

Hugh May Hugh May (1621 – 21 February 1684) was an English architect in the period after the Restoration of King Charles II. He worked in the era which fell between the first introduction of Palladianism into England by Inigo Jones, and the full flo ...

, Roger Pratt and

William Winde Captain William Winde (c.1645–1722) was an England, English gentleman architect, whose military career under Charles II of England, Charles II, resulting in fortifications and topographical surveys but lack of preferment, and his later career, ...

, were in fact designed by Wilbraham, with the named architects acting as surveyors to carry out her plans. Millar's views are not universally accepted, and his planned book on Wilbraham has yet to be published. It is generally accepted that Wilbraham undertook designs for a number of buildings for family and friends, including her own home,

, and the estate Church of St Andrew. St Andrew's continues as a functioning church in the

Architecture and description

Pevsner records that "only the east wall with a 14th century window" remained of the medieval church when Elizabeth Wilbraham begun her reconstruction in 1700. The tower and nave are her work. The tower is of five stages, with a castellated final stage.

describes the nave as "provincial

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

undertook a restoration in around 1869, and the font is his. Further work, including the construction of a family chapel, was done by

in 1876–1877. The chapel, and the church, contain monuments to the Earls of Bradford and their families, who owned Weston Park until 1986.

History

Architecture and description

Footnotes

References

Sources

See also