OS grid reference SJ 418 665 Country England Website St Paul's Chester Status Parish church Province Province of York | Location Chester, Cheshire Denomination Anglican Opened 1905 Diocese Diocese of Chester Architect John Douglas | |
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Churchmanship Open Evangelical Charismatic Architectural style Gothic Revival architecture Similar St Nicholas' Chapel, Zion Chapel - Chester, St Mary's and St Michael's, All Saints Church - Scholar G, Holy Trinity Church - Capenhurst | ||
St Paul's Church overlooks the River Dee in Boughton, Chester, Cheshire, England. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building, and is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of Chester. In the series Buildings of England, the architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner stated that he regarded it as "the boldest of Douglas' church designs".
Contents
History
The first church on the site was built in 1830 in stuccoed brick. Its style was Italianate with round-headed windows and a northwest campanile. The architect was William Cole the younger. It was virtually rebuilt in 1876 to a design by John Douglas, who added the south aisle in 1902, and the spire in 1905.
Exterior
The church is built in red brick with stone dressings and in timber framing with brick and plaster panels. The roof has grey and grey-green slates. Its plan consists of a through nave and chancel of four bays plus an apsidal bay, a south aisle, a west porch and a broach spire at the west end. Most of the windows are lancets.
Interior
Pevsner commented that the strength of the interior lies in its timber-work. The walls are decorated with stencilled patterns in the Arts and Crafts manner. The wrought iron screen is by Douglas. The stained glass dated 1887 in the north aisle is by Kempe and that in the baptistry is by Frampton. The rest of the stained glass was made by Morris & Co. Two of the windows were designed by Burne-Jones, others by Morris himself, and the latest windows dating from 1925 to 1927 are by Henry Dearle. The reredos is a war memorial dated 1920 by H. G. Hiller. Also in the church is a monument from the older church dated 1845. The three-manual organ was built by James J. Binns of Leeds.