Christ Church, Alsager

Christ Church stands in the town of Alsager, Cheshire, as an active Anglican parish church. Built in 1789–90 by three local ladies, it replaced a chapel of ease to St Bertoline’s Church in Barthomley. The church became a parish church only in 1946, after 156 years as a chapel. Its Georgian exterior is of yellow Keuper sandstone, with a west tower, six-bay nave and three-bay chancel ending in an apse. The tower carries a clock on each face and a balustrade at the top, while the nave windows are round-headed and separated by giant pilasters. Inside, a west gallery rests on Doric columns and the nave and chancel are panelled to dado height. The font is an 18th-century baluster with an octagonal bowl, and stained glass windows show the Apostles, made by different studios over time. A window of 1907 depicts Saint Paul by Jones and Willis, while others show Saint Luke and Saint Mark, with work by William Morris and Donald Brook. Three plaques honour the five Ladies of the Manor who paid for the church, and the tower holds eight bells, six cast in 1893 and two in 1902. Outside, a pair of gate piers in matching sandstone, topped with vase finials, date from about 1790. The churchyard contains war graves of eight British servicemen, six from the First World War and two from the Second. The organ, built by Stringer and Company and rebuilt in 1990, fills the building with sound during services. Parish registers begin in 1789 for baptisms and burials and in 1852 for marriages, marking the life of the community since the church was first raised.