St Mary's Church, Handbridge

St Mary’s Church stands on Overleigh Road in Handbridge, a district south of the River Dee in Chester. It is also called the Church of St Mary-without-the-Walls, a name that once set it apart from the older St Mary-on-the-Hill inside the city walls. The building is made of Waverton stone and Runcorn sandstone, with Westmorland slate roofs and a tall three-stage tower topped by a recessed spire. Two porches open on the north and south sides, and the tower carries clock faces on three sides. The churchyard walls, gates and railings were designed by the same architect and built in 1887.

The church was built between 1885 and 1887 for Hugh Grosvenor, the first Duke of Westminster, to F. B. Wade’s plans. A south porch was added in 1914 by P. H. Lockwood. Inside, the baptistry holds an oak-covered stone font and encaustic tiles, with stained glass by Edward Frampton showing Christ’s baptism. The nave floor is of wood blocks, while the chancel rises three steps and has a mosaic pavement. The east window is likely also by Frampton, and the reredos was designed by Frederic Shields and made in cloisonné by Clement Heaton.

The church contains a ring of eight bells cast in 1887 by Mears and Stainbank at the Whitechapel Bell Foundry. The southeast chapel is screened in wrought iron, and to the north of the chancel is a stone sedilia. The organ chamber and vestry lie beside the three-bay chancel, and the five-bay nave is lit by a clerestory. Outside, the churchyard walls, gates and railings form a matching ensemble designed by Wade.