St Bartholomew
Church Minshull, Cheshire
This is a Queen Anne church, in the Bollingbroke style, which is rare in the provinces, but full of natural light.
The present church has its origins in Providence Chapel which was built on the same site in 1814. This was subsequently replaced by the present building designed by the renowned local architect John Douglas and opened in 1867. From that date until 1972 it was known as Over Congregational Church (or locally as Over Congs) and was part of the Cheshire Congregational Union, and it became part of the Mersey Province (now Synod) of the United Reformed Church. Two further phases of building towards the end of the 20th century at the rear of the church provide meeting rooms and hall which are heavily used by the local community.
Work is for repairs to external decorative pinnacles, ridge tiles and parapets which are a distinctive element of the exiting Grade II listed building. The project also aims to restore and repair defective rainwater goods by reintroducing cast iron fittings to the original pattern. This will make the roof safer and will help remove this Grade II listed church from the Historic England Heritage at Risk register.