St Catherine'S Church, Over Alderley

St Catherine's Church, Over Alderley, also known as St Catherine's Church, Birtles, stands in an isolated position in Birtles Lane, near to Birtles Hall, in the civil parish of Over Alderley, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building. It was originally a private chapel for the Hibbert family and is now a parish church. It is unusual in that its tower is octagonal. It contains furnishings and stained glass from Germany and the Netherlands. The church is listed in England's Thousand Best Churches. It is an active Anglican church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Macclesfield and the deanery of Knutsford. Its benefice is combined with that of St Mary, Nether Alderley. HistorySt Catherine's was built as a private chapel by Thomas Hibbert of Birtles Hall in 1840. It became the parish church of Birtles and Over Alderley in 1890. ArchitectureExteriorThe church is built in red brick with buff sandstone dressings. It has a Kerridge stone-slate roof with a stone ridge. At its southwest corner is an octagonal tower. The plan of the body of the church consists of a five-bay nave, a short chancel, a south porch, and a baptistry in a corresponding position on the north side. The tower has three stages with stone bands at each stage, single-light windows, and is surmounted by an openwork stone lattice balustrade with plain pinnacles.

St Catherine's Church, Over Alderley, also known as St Catherine's Church, Birtles, stands in an isolated position in Birtles Lane, near to Birtles Hall, in the civil parish of Over Alderley, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building. It was originally a private chapel for the Hibbert family and is now a parish church. It is unusual in that its tower is octagonal. It contains furnishings and stained glass from Germany and the Netherlands. The church is listed in England's Thousand Best Churches. It is an active Anglican church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Macclesfield and the deanery of Knutsford. Its benefice is combined with that of St Mary, Nether Alderley. HistorySt Catherine's was built as a private chapel by Thomas Hibbert of Birtles Hall in 1840. It became the parish church of Birtles and Over Alderley in 1890. ArchitectureExteriorThe church is built in red brick with buff sandstone dressings. It has a Kerridge stone-slate roof with a stone ridge. At its southwest corner is an octagonal tower. The plan of the body of the church consists of a five-bay nave, a short chancel, a south porch, and a baptistry in a corresponding position on the north side. The tower has three stages with stone bands at each stage, single-light windows, and is surmounted by an openwork stone lattice balustrade with plain pinnacles.