Description

SE 10 NW WILSHAW ROAD
(Wilshaw)
4/52
Church of St. Mary

II

G.V.

A church of highly eclectic design, having some German Romanesque
forms, the elaborate central tower roof of French gothic type, and the
windows typical of the Italian Renaissance. Built 1863 by John Kirk
of Huddersfield at the expense of Joseph Hirst of Wilshaw. Hammer
dressed stone. Pitched slate roof with round arched corbel table.
Symmetrical plan with church to east and former Sunday School to west
with large vestibule surmounted by large square tower with very steep
pyramidal roof with lozenge slating and decorative ironwork to top.
Large central porch on north side, with panelled double doors and
semi-circular fanlight with turned radial glazing bars. Doorway has
colonnette in reveals with foliated capitals, and moulded and decorated
arch. Oculus in gable apex of porch with stone wheel in front of
glass. 5-bay nave to left with round-arched 2-light windows with
circle in head and three detached colonnettes to each window, which
has archivolt. The one-bay chancel side windows are similar but
without the circle in head. The east window is 3-light with a
detached outer skin with four colonnettes and two circles, each with
stone wheel. The hood mould has well carved angels as stops. The
5-bay Sunday School to right has similar detailing to the church, but
more plain. Warden's house (formerly the vicarage) to west end with
addition to match the chancel. The central tower has octagonal stair
tower on south side with pointed lozenge slated roof and spiral stone
stairs. The tower has, on each side, two tall round arched cross
windows with archivolts, colonnettes in reveals and as centre mullion,
circle in head, and round arched lights. Louvred lucarnes in roof
of tower.

Interior: round chancel arch on clustered responds. Gallery to rear
with well carved oak front with panels of different foliage patterns.
Arched braced collar beam roof. Barrel vaulted chancel roof in wood.
Pulpit, reading desk and organ case, all elaborately carved in oak in
round arched style with foliage and spiral decorated colonnettes.
Choir stall fronts equally well carved each with 3 wheels and musical
instruments carved in spandrels. Carved oak lectern of 1902.
Memorial to Joseph Hirst of 1876: a marble low relief carving of the
legend of the Good Samaritan in elaborate well carved stone surround.
East window by Clayton and Bell in memory of Mary, the only child of
Jospeh and Eleanor Hirst, c.1863. Vestibule beneath the tower and
Sunday School, quite plain.

Listing NGR: SE1157309785

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26428048

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Cornwall (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  London 6: Westminster (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England): Westminster v. 6
• 
  London 1: The City of London: City of London v. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Lancashire: Liverpool and the South-West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Dorset (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Worcestershire Revised Edition (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)