Holy Trinity Church, Bickerton

Holy Trinity Church stands north of Bickerton village in rural Cheshire. Built in 1839 as a chapel for St Oswald’s, Malpas, it was designed by Lancaster architect Edmund Sharpe. The land came from Philip Grey Egerton, and local fundraising raised £2,000. Bishop John Sumner consecrated the church in January 1840 after just £700 built the nave and chancel. A grant of £120 from the Incorporated Church Building Society helped cover costs. By 1869 it became a parish church on its own, and later additions included a chancel in the 1870s and a baptistry in 1911. The exterior is red sandstone under a slate roof, with a three-bay nave and single-bay chancel. A small octagonal baptistry sits at the west end under a pyramidal roof. The vestry on the north and organ chamber on the south give the plan a cross shape. Inside, panelled oak forms the reredos, pulpit, organ case and lectern, while the stone font is octagonal. Memorials in alabaster on the nave walls honour former vicars of the church. Stained glass by Kempe from around 1904 fills the baptistry and one south window, with two more windows by Trena Cox dated about 1940. The two-manual organ was built by P. Conacher and Company of Huddersfield. The church’s simple, sturdy design and warm oak fittings create a quiet place for reflection amid the rolling Cheshire countryside.