All Saints Church, Runcorn

All Saints' Church, Runcorn
All Saints' Church, Runcorn
All Saints' Church, Runcorn Location in Cheshire
53°20′37″N 2°44′12″W / 53.3435°N 2.73656°W / 53.3435; -2.73656Coordinates: 53°20′37″N 2°44′12″W / 53.3435°N 2.73656°W / 53.3435; -2.73656
OS grid reference	SJ 511,833
Location	Runcorn, Cheshire
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Website	All Saints, Runcorn
Architecture
Status	Parish church
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade II*
Designated	7 December 1965
Architect(s)	Anthony Salvin
Architectural type	Church
Style	Gothic Revival (Early English)
Groundbreaking	1847
Completed	1849 (1849)
Construction cost	£8,052
Specifications
Capacity	1,060
Spire height	161 feet (49 m)
Materials	Sandstone, slate roof
Administration
Parish	Runcorn
Deanery	Frodsham
Archdeaconry	Chester
Diocese	Chester
Province	York
Clergy
Vicar(s)	Rev John Hayes
Laity
Churchwarden(s)	Barry Newport Barry Littler

All Saints' Church is the parish church of Runcorn, Cheshire, England, sited on the south bank of the River Mersey overlooking Runcorn Gap. There is a tradition that the first church on the site was founded by Ethelfleda in 915. That was replaced, probably in about 1250, by a medieval church that was altered and extended in the 14th and 15th centuries. By the 19th century the building's structure had deteriorated and become dangerous, and it was replaced by a new church, built between 1847 and 1849 to the designs of Anthony Salvin.

The church is built in local sandstone and is in Early English style with a tall steeple at the southwest corner. Some of the furniture in the church was moved from the previous building, as were some of the memorials, the majority which are to members of the Brooke family from nearby Norton Priory.

All Saints is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, arranging services on Sundays and home groups during the week, in addition to weddings and funerals, and running a community project. The church is designated as a Grade II* listed building.

A church has stood on the site of the present structure for centuries. There is a tradition that the first church was founded in 915 by Ethelfleda when she built a castle nearby. Dedicated to St Bertelin, it was probably a simple structure of wood and thatch. Runcorn is not mentioned in the Domesday Book, but there is evidence that Nigel, the first baron of Halton (died 1080), conferred the church with a priest "in the days of the Conqueror". A medieval church was subsequently built on the site, during the 19th-century demolition of which Norman capitals were found in the masonry of its tower. Judging by its Early English style of architecture, the local historian H. F. Starkey estimates that the medieval church was probably built in about 1250. The chancel was rebuilt in the 14th century with Decorated tracery in the east window. During the same century an embattled tower was built at the west end of the church, and this was either rebuilt or increased in size in the following century. A major item of the church furniture was a pre-Reformation rood screen. It was destroyed when the church was rebuilt in the 19th century, although a few fragments were used in the construction of the present choir stalls. The nave of the church measured 52 feet (16 m) by 40 feet (12 m) and the tower was 57 feet (17 m) high. At some time the dedication of the church was changed from St Bertelin to St Bartholomew, and later to All Saints.