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I Location

II General Description

St Bertoline's is a 15th-16thc. Perpendicular church with chancel rebuilt by Austin and Paley in 1925-26. It has a four-bay nave with aisles and clerestorey and a N porch; a chapel (the Crewe Chapel) of c.1528 on the S side of the chancel and a vestry on the N, and a Perpendicular W tower. The oldest feature, however, is an elaborate 12thc. doorway, now blocked and reset in the N chancel wall, trimmed to fit the narrow gap between the vestry and the end of the aisle. Construction is of red sandstone blocks, generally eroded.

III Exterior Features

1. Doorways

(i) Chancel N doorway

Round headed, two orders with tympanum. The doorway has been reset and trimmed at the R where it meets the end of the nave aisle. It is now blocked, and the jambs of the inner order largely replaced.

First order: the tympanum has a large circular medallion in the centre, with a double-roll border and a large flat field suitable for painting. Apart from this the only carving is a groove around the tympanum face, just inside the edge. It is supported on plain square jambs, largely of replacement blocks.

Second order. En-delit nook-shafts, probably replacements, without bases. The capitals have roll neckings and narrow square abaci. That on the E has an oval head on the angle, with oval eyes, damaged nose and a thin horizontal mouth, all features indicated by simple grooves. There is a large loss on the R of the jaw. In the place of hair, six long curving fluted leaves issue from the crown of the head, symmetrically disposed. The W capital has projecting volutes at all three angles, these rising on flat stems from a triangular mound on each face. Between the volutes on the E face is a simple bud between two leaves.

The imposts are chamfered and carved on both face and chamfer with deeply cut snaking foliage stems with leaves and spiral shoots issuing from the main stems. The arch has a heavy angle roll and five rows of lateral chevron on the face, centrifugally carved and consisting of three slender rolls between two thicker rolls. The triangular fields at the intrados have triangular fillet borders. The label is chamfered with a row of billet on the chamfer. Construction is of red sandstone, with a thin wash of light grey paint applied to parts of the imposts and label, presumably to discourage lichen growth, possibly at the same time that the drainpipes were painted.

Dimensions

VII History

St Bertoline was an 8thc. prince who became a hermit after the death of his wife and lived on an island in the River Sow in Staffordshire. In 1086 the manor was held of Earl Hugh of Chester by William Malbank. No church was noted at this time.

VIII Comments/Opinions

Pevsner describes the doorway as 'rather raw'; the capitals as 'primitive' but this does it an injustice. The imposts are elaborately carved and the chevron arch and capitals are at least precisely designed. A date in the 1130s or 1140s is suggested.

IX Bibliography