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The Earliest Records
10931093 is the earliest specific reference to Bebington and the church. Scirard (Seward) gave the chapel and several acres of land to the Abbey of St Werburgh in nearby Chester.
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The Norman Church
1120The church was rebuilt in 1120-30, with the south and west walls and the porch of the old building being incorporated into a new church, four times its original size. The quality of the Norman architecture suggests that the church was of importance, and it grew to be more powerful with the founding of a […]
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The Thirteenth Century Extension
1274The last vestiges of the Saxon church were removed in about 1280. The south wall and the Spital porch were rebuilt in the Early Decorated Style, and the windows on either side were enlarged. The thirteenth century ashlar masonry on the inside of the south wall ‘batters’ or slopes outwards at the top, and was […]
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The Fourteenth Century North Aisle and Chancel
1320Further alterations were made in 1320, but they have been superseded by later work. The narrow north aisle was widened and converted into the nave, and a new chancel was built. The windows and porch in the north wall date from this period but only parts are original as they were dismantled and rebuilt in […]
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The Tudor Church
1535The east end of the church was entirely rebuilt in the Tudor period and a tradition has grown that the last Abbot of St Werburgh, Dr John Clarke, decided to make use of surplus funds from the Abbey’s treasury to prevent its sequestration by the King. The work is said to have been given added […]
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The Bells
1549There were three bells at Bebington in 1549 according to the List of Church Goods in the Deanery of Wirral. These were recast in musical sequence in the seventeenth century and remained in use until the early nineteenth century. There are various references to them in the Church accounts. The first entry records 6/- paid […]
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The Seventeenth Century
1640Very few changes were made to the church during the seventeenth century. The lamps which had burnt on the brackets had already been extinguished when the Chantries were closed during the reign of Edward VI, and during the Commonwealth period the building was denuded of much of its furniture and fittings. This included the Rood […]
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The Eighteenth Century
1774A clearer picture is possible after 1774 when the Parish Accounts begin and there is a painting of the church dating from about 1790. A visitor at that time would have been greeted by rows of box pews, while in the chancel there was the high pulpit with staircase, a clerk’s desk, and reading desk, […]
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The Tower Struck by Lightning
1805The tower, which was famous for its ivy, was struck by lightning in May 1805. The accounts for that year show the purchase of ropes, tackle, and scaffolding, and the payment of £151.6.6d to Thomas Francis and Job Yeardsley ‘for taking down and re-building the steeple’. In 1867 the top of the spire was damaged […]
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The Early Nineteenth Century
1829There is no reference to the small gallery for musicians, which was constructed on the south wall. It was approached by stone steps near the south porch (which started near the buttress) and was entered by a door cut in the wall. Nor is there reference to the door that was cut through the east […]
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The Restorations of 1871-2 and 1897
1871The changes made in 1847 were extensive, but there was still room for improvement. The old pews remained and many were in a decayed condition with rot spreading from the damp earth below. The four new stoves (two on either side of the altar and two at the west end) had also failed to solve […]
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The Rectory
1880Rector George Ramsay Feilden was living in Abbott’s Grange when he was Curate under his father. In December 1880, he moved into the new Rectory which he had built for the family.
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The new Bebington Library
1974Further afield in Bebington, just around the corner, the new library was opened in 1974 and was designed by Paterson, Macaulay and Owens in 1965. It replaced the Mayer Library which Joseph Mayer had presented in a trust to the Borough of Bebington. It is listed as one of 8 cutting edge libraries of the […]
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The re-ordering of 1989
1989In 1989 there was a major internal re-ordering of the Church. The origins go back to the second decade of the century when Mrs. Rainey, the patron, sold the Advowson to the evangelical Church Association, who were the predecessors of the present patrons, The Church Society Trust. In doing so the incumbent – and consequently […]
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New Millenium Restorations
2004A decision was made to make significant repairs to the church in 2004 which were estimated at £100,000. This included new stone mullions with some restoration of the glass for the Henry Holliday windows in the south wall and re-slating of some of the roof surfaces, together with new lead gutters. SaveSave
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Roof Repairs
2016In 2016 the Quinquennial report did not make good reading, as the architect had found significant damage to roof timbers in the Feilden Chapel. In additional, the roof surfaces not repaired in 2004 were in need of replacement, together with stone work which was showing some deterioration and needed replacing. The roof over the north […]
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