St Augustine's Church is 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 ...

Rugeley Rugeley ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Cannock Chase District, in Staffordshire, England. It lies on the north-eastern edge of Cannock Chase next to the River Trent; it is north of Lichfield, southeast of Stafford, northeast of ...

Cannock Chase District Cannock Chase is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Staffordshire, England. It is named after and covers a large part of Cannock Chase, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, National Landscape. The council is b ...

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, ...

, England. Located north of the town centre, it was consecrated in 1823 as a replacement for the medieval St Augustine's church, now partially ruined, and was subsequently extended. It is a

Grade II* 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 ...

History

St. Augustine's Church was built in 1822–23 to replace the medieval parish church dedicated to St Augustine of Canterbury, which had become too small for the growing population of the town. A site across the street was provided by the First Earl of Lichfield. The building was designed by H. J. Underwood and cost £6,501, some of which was later defrayed by partially demolishing the old church and selling materials from it. A

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 ...

designed by Frank L. Pearson was added c. 1904 to accommodate a choir and a larger altar. The church was Grade II* listed on 5 July 1972. The remnant of the old church was Grade II listed on the same day.

Church

St Augustine's is built of

ashlar Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...

. It is an early work by Underwood, in simplified

Perpendicular In geometry, two geometric objects are perpendicular if they intersect at right angles, i.e. at an angle of 90 degrees or π/2 radians. The condition of perpendicularity may be represented graphically using the '' perpendicular symbol'', � ...

style with a tall battlemented tower with Tudor-arched windows and door; the doors on the South side also have Tudor arches. It is an early example of a large Gothic revival church with galleries. The chancel and adjoining vestry and organ chamber by Pearson are also Perpendicular; the East window has stained glass by C. E. Kempe. The churchyard has been cleared.

References

External links

* * {{usurped,
Official website
}

Churches completed in 1823 Churches in Rugeley

History

Church

See also

References

External links