St Cuthbert's Church
The parish church of St. Cuthbert’s is an Anglican church in the village of Halsall, near Ormskirk in Lancashire, being in the diocese of Liverpool and the archdeaconry of Warrington. The church is recorded as a designated Grade 1 listed building in the National Heritage List for England. This is the highest of the three grades and relates to buildings which are of ‘exceptional interest, sometimes considered to be internationally important’ (source Historic England).
St. Cuthbert’s church is constructed of squared sandstone and has a roof made of a combination of stone slate and also lead to the eastern end. The building consists of a nave with a tower, north and south aisles, a south porch, a chancel to the east with a vestry, plus a choir vestry which was originally the Halsall Free Grammar School. Read more about Halsall Grammar School here and about the Edward Halsall who founded the Grammar School in 1593. The oldest parts of the church date from the 14th century.
The south wall of the chancel includes 14th century triple sedilia (priest seats) and a piscina. A painted tomb chest has two effigies – Sir Henry Halsall (c.1497-1522) and his wife, Margaret Stanley; they were the parents of Reverend Richard, aforementioned. In 1873 the chancel was restored and some of the gravestones were removed including those of Reverend Nathaniel Brownell (1651-1718) and his family. Reverend Brownell was a former schoolmaster and rector at Halsall. Rebuilding of the organ took place in 1965 when other restoration work was also carried out.
Chancel – according to the official list entry of Historic England, this is the oldest part of the church, dating from the early 1300s. The north wall of the chancel contains a 19th century arch to the organ chamber and a 14th century vestry doorway with an impressive, original 14th century panelled oak door. The recess to the east of this contains an effigy of Reverend Richard Halsall (rector of St. Cuthbert’s 1516-1563).
Choir stalls – the ancient choir stalls incorporate 15th century woodwork and were placed in their present position during the major restoration of 1886, under the guidance of Reverend Thomas Blundell Hollinshead Blundell and his brother Colonel Henry Blundell Hollinshead Blundell, MP who was the patron at that time.
Nave – the nave is one of the oldest parts of the church; it was rebuilt in the late 1300s as indicated by Historic England.
The stone font consists of a round, decorated bowl from the 19th century upon a moulded pillar, circa 14th century.
North and South aisles – restoration of the south aisle occurred in 1751 and again 135 years later during the 1886 renovations. The east window of the south aisle is early 14th century and contains fragments of medieval glass as does the west window of the north aisle.
Tower – this dates from the early 15th century and is broached to an octagon. During 1886, the tower was included in the renovation work. The tower has a stone spire which was repaired in 1852 after being struck by lightning during a severe storm (Southport Visiter newspaper, 18th June 1852). More recently, in 2017 vital work was completed on the church spire.
Church bells & clock – the ‘ring of bells’ consists of six bells in all, having been re-hung in 1887. More on the bells and bell ringers with a sound recording of the Bells Ring Out in 1945.
The installation date is unknown, however, we do know that four of the bells were recast in 1786, one in 1811 and the other in 1887. They were also recast in 1931 in memory of Alfred Lushington Mather, the son of Reverend Edward Mather, rector of Halsall. Alfred was killed in action in 1917 at Ypres, France.
Choir vestry – this was the former Halsall Free Grammar School, founded by lawyer, Edward Halsall in 1593. His father was Sir Henry Halsall, mentioned previously. Above the entrance door is the Halsall family arms and the inscription ‘E.H. 1593’.
Written by Angela Silcock, December 2025.
Many thanks to the St. Cuthbert’s church Facebook page
for kindly giving permission to use their photographs.
References
Halsall 1320-1965 by Reverend W. Herbert Bullough, Rector of Halsall.
Halsall History Society website https://halsallhistory.co.uk/table-of-rectors/
Historic England webpage https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1073159
Notes on the Parish and Church of Halsall by Henry Taylor & R.D. Radcliffe, 1896.
https://www.hslc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/48-10-Taylor-and-Radcliffe.pdf
