The Corpus of ROMANESQUE SCULPTURE in Britain & Ireland
Warrington (now)
Parish church
St Wilfrid's has a long nave and chancel, continuous inside and out with no chancel arch but the division marked by a step. N and S aisles occupy the five bays of the nave and two bays of the chancel; a short aisleless section of chancel at the E end is raised for the main altar. At the W end is a tower, and a transeptal vestry has been added to the N chancel aisle. The earliest part of the fabric is the remnant of a corbel table high in the N wall of the S aisle. This indicates an early 12thc. aisleless church. In 1334 the Boydell Chapel was added alongside this nave on the S side, and features of this remain in the S windows and some of the glass. In 1525-39 there was a major rebuilding involving the construction of both arcades and aisles, and the W tower. The clerestorey was added in 1833, and remodelled in the major restoration of 1874 by Paley and Austin. The N vestry also dates from this restoration. The font and the corbels in the S aisle are described below.