Ormskirk Parish Church - Question 2

Inside are three chapels: the Scarisbrick chapel, mainly built in the 16th century and located on the south part of the church next to the south aisle and the derby chapel. It became the burial place of the Scarisbrick family. The Bickerstaffe chapel contains the church font, dated 1661, given by the Countess of Derby in thanksgiving for the restoration of King Charles II. And the Derby chapel, located next to the Chancel and the Scarisbrick chapel, contains four effigies representing the first Earl of Derby, and his first and second wife, and the third Earl of Derby, the grandson of the first Earl and his first wife. The vault beneath the chapel was the burial place of the Derby family until 1851. Tombs in these chapels were typical of churches across Britain and so these are a typical aspect of the church.

Also inside the church are some unusual aspects such as the organ being elevated above the chancel and the alter although organs, which became popular in the 19th century were sometimes placed in odd locations. The Font which is usually located near the entrance can be found in the Bickerstaffe chapel on the north side of the church, the opposite side of where the entrance is. This is unusual and a good example of the church being exceptional.

One of the most obvious exceptional features of the church is the presence of both a spire and a tower1, this is what makes the church truly unique. Not only are they unique because the church has both of them when most traditional churches only have one or the other but both the tower and spire have their own unique and typical features as well. The towers cloak is typical to many churches all over the world but Ormskirk Parish Church's clock2 is kind of exceptional in its own way in that it doesn't actually work, the hands are stuck at quarter to nine. There are mason's marks on some of the bricks in the walls of the church, this is typical of churches to have the mark of the stonemason who cut the stones for building or repairing the church with. The sundial3 on the outside of the church on the south side is exceptional because not only is on the side of a church but it also uses the wall it is built into as a base therefore working with only a 90 degree angle as opposed to traditional sundials which use a much bigger angle. The weathervane on top of the spire is typical of churches.

The church also has many more typical features built in the Middle Ages that make it more common. The architecture is typical because of its perpendicular style, this can has be seen inside the church where the columns are good examples. In many places the church has been built or repaired with recycled stone from other buildings and structures such as Burscough Priory. Many churches and other buildings alike did this to save stone, cut down building costs and because it was more convenient than the quarry and cut more stone.

The Victorians added to and changed a lot of the church, for example, when the spire was blown down in the 19th century they rebuilt it albeit very crudely whereby they used the wrong stone and the design of it was very badly thought out thus making it look odd compared to the base of the spire, the tower and the rest of the church and also leaving holes where stone should be in-between the spire and the wall of the church. The Victorians made many changes to churches therefore the Victorian changes to the Ormskirk Parish Church are typical as of the 19th century, they built the the entrance to the church which blocks out a window, and also took inspiration from Gothic architecture and from it they derived the the style New Gothic. Their style and influence can be seen in most churches across the country and in Ormskirk Parish Church: the Bickerstaffe contains some new stonework which is believed to have been the work of Victorians.

Ormskirk Parish Church has also been modernised quite a lot with the addition of electric lighting which the majority of church have in our modern age so you could say that a church that didn't have electric lighting would be labelled exceptional or unusual but since the Ormskirk Parish Church is well lit electronically inside then it is considered typical in this respect. Many churches now have crèches and areas for Sunday school for young children, toddlers and babies. Running water piped in from a water main is relatively modern and is included in most churches in Britain including Ormskirk Parish Church. As well as electric lighting, electronic bells are sometimes now used also instead of the traditional manual bells.

In conclusion, I think Ormskirk Parish Church is a typical church in many aspects compared to other churches in Britain but it has many exceptional and in some cases unique parts to it that it simply could not be labelled an average church, it is most definitely an exceptional church. Especially since it is in the most unlikely of areas, a small town in northern Britain, you would expect a unique and special church like Ormskirk Parish Church to somewhere more populated and well-known such as a borough in southern England. I have no doubt in saying that Ormskirk Parish Church is among the most unique churches in Britain, if not Western Europe.

Sources

The Church itself.

The Church guide book.

Mr. Trainer and Mr. Lyon.

Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/Ormskirk)

Notes and information provided by teacher.

Appendix

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Robert Bootle History Coursework Ormskirk School