Anyone who is familiar with Alderley Edge will know and recognise the view of St. Philip and St. James' Church, sitting prominently at the junction of Wilmslow Road and Ryleys Lane, opposite Panacea and the entrance to the railway station.mandy
The Church is a Grade II* listed building, which was built in 1853, to the design of the prominent Manchester architect J.S. Crowther and was his first independent work.
In 1857 the building was enlarged, almost doubling its' seating capacity and the South Porch and Tower were added, together with the beautifully proportioned spire. The architectural historian Nikolas Pevsner described it as large, ambitious and unmistakingly prosperous looking!
The structural integrity of the spire is held together with metal retaining rods and in the most recent quinquennial (five yearly inspection), it was identified that these had corroded and will need replacing. This requires taking down a substantial proportion of the spire and then building back up.
The budget costings for carrying out these and other related works is £150,000. If the Church is unable to raise these funds, then there may be no option but to take down the spire and cap it off, potentially losing forever a landmark greeting those that enter and exit Alderley Edge from that side and that can be seen from across the Village.
St. Philip and St. James' has launched a fundraising appeal to raise the monies to ensure that the landmark spire is protected for future generations. George Osborne MP has generously agreed to be the Patron of the Appeal and has already kindly made a personal donation.
Any donations would be very gratefully and warmly received and there are a number of ways in which they can be made, including in person at Barclays Bank in the Village, direct transfer and via the internet. Full details are available on the Church website.
This is a member post by Mandy Parr.
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