Our Building
The foundation stone of Christ Church was laid by Mrs William Willis on Lammas Day, 1st August 1857. At this time, Higher Bebington was described as “a township remote from the Parish Church of Bebington above two miles, and contains a most demoralised population of above 600 persons.”
In 2009, the church celebrated its 150th Anniversary, which featured a display of local and church history, and a Flower Festival.
The church itself was consecrated on Christmas Eve 1859, by the Lord Bishop of Chester, John Graham. “At this stage, Christ Church was a ‘District Church’, a daughter church within the parish of St. Peter’s, Rock Ferry and was licensed for baptisms and burials but not for the publication of banns or solemnisation of marriages. In 1877 it became a New Parish in its own right.”
Read more about our building’s history...
The church has four main areas:
The Chancel
The chancel features a carved oak altar, an aumbry to store the reserved sacrament, the church organ and the choir stalls which can accommodate 24 choristers, six in each of two rows on each side. These tend not to be used in main services, but the Friday evening Compline service usually takes place in the Chancel.
The Nave and Aisles
The nave is described as being “clean lined and lofty…with clerestory having seven, three light windows either side, above the pointed arches of the arcades that have alternate circular and octagonal pillars, each made from a single block of stone.” The North Aisle features a Memorial Chapel complete with an oak altar and reredos. This Chapel is used for the 8:00 a.m. Holy Communion service on Sundays. The South Aisle features movable pews for the choir and a Clavinova which is used for Sunday worship.
The Tower and Spire
The tower is built of the same local stone as the rest of the church and forms an impressive porch to the original doorway. The tower features eight bells which are played from a keyboard in the lower bell-chamber.
The Vestry
The present vestry was constructed in 1906, and was dedicated by Archdeacon Barber on All Saints’ Day of that year. It provides space for hanging of cassocks, storage of music, and secure accommodation for registers, current church records and communion vessels.
Historically, the church was served by a Church Hall which was dedicated by the Bishop of Chester during Evensong on 17th September 1952. War building restrictions resulted in the Church Hall being quite a simplified building. This saw much use over the course of the years and was used extensively by a number of church and non-church organisations including various uniform groups.
In 2011, after lengthy community consultation, a new Community Centre was opened. It features a link to the church building and has allowed the introduction of a significant number of new services for the benefit of the wider community, details of which can be found here.
