The Church of St Luke is a Grade I listed historic parish church, that dates from about 1430 and is the prominent feature in the heart of the village of Holmes Chapel. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Macclesfield and the deanery of Congleton.
The description of the Grade I listed church by Historic England reads as follows;
"Parish Church,circa 1430 with early C18 alterations. Sandstone tower, red brick chancel and nave, in Flemish bond, stone slate roof. Tower with porch, 4 bay nave, with side aisles, and one bay chancel. This is a large Perpendicular timber church with Perpendicular west tower but the chancel and nave were encased in brickwork early in the C18. Square sandstone tower with buttresses which reduce four times in height. Gothic headed, ledged and boarded oak door, on large plain strap hinges, in coved and headed opening surmounted by a hood mould. There is a 2-light Perpendicular window over the door and an empty niche with splayed reveals above this. There is a small single light window below the two light louvred window opening at bell stage. Diamond shaped clock dials to north and south faces of the tower. Plain coved cornice with angle gargoyles and crenellated parapet. The aisle windows are in two tiers, semi-circular headed, single light, lead lattice, glazed, wood windows below, and shorter, segmental, single light, wood windows above a three course deep projecting brick band. Six window bays each side. There are segmental headed oak boarded doors, on strap hinges, in the second and sixth window bays each side. On the north aisle the doors are flanked by wide brick pilasters and have pediments above the arches. The aisles have lean-to roofs with slightly shallower pitches than the nave. There are sandstone copings with kneelers to the ends of the aisle roofs. The chancel has a three light, stone, Perpendicular window with stained glass surmounted by a hood mould supported by corbels with faces. The chancel roof is lower than the nave and has sandstone ridge and hips. There is a small vestry in the angle between the aisle and chancel on the north side. Interior: The tower entrance leads into a porch with tower steps. It is separated from the nave by a pair of 1980 3-panel glazed doors with wide panelled lining. The nave is separated from the aisles by angle roll-beaded octagonal oak posts, on low stone bases, which support the three main roof trusses. There are oak panelled galleries, circa 1705, across the back of the church (west) and over the south aisle. These contain the organ and three rows of box pews respectively. The nave floor is of stone slabs and head stones. The chancel has a plain oak reredos and side panelling and there is a low oak communion rail with turned balusters. A carved oak crest dated 1622 is set low down (south) by the Communion Rail. Wall memorials with dates 1810, 1828 and 1836 in the chancel. A number of good wall memorials from 1915 to mid C19 on the aisle walls. Stone font of 1890 and C19 oak pulpit with Gothic motifs. A brass chandelier of 1708 hangs from a nave main truss. The chancel ceiling is low, flat and plastered and separated from the nave by a chevron plaster filled truss. The C15 nave roof has arch braced trusses with cambered tie beams. The moulding on the octagonal posts continues on to the arch braces and there are shaped struts to the upper purlins. Intermediate arch braced collar trusses also with shaped struts. There are exposed rafters and two lines of purlins with quatrefoil wind braces. Main roof wall plates strutted and braced from a girding beam 600mm below. Aisle roofs have exposed rafters and purlins supported by simple braced trusses which are carried by the octagonal niouldadposts which separate the aisles from the nave. Although there is no external indication of the quality of this roof frame this church must rank high among Cheshire's timber framed churches. SOURCE: (
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The church tower has a ring of six bells, four of which by are Richard Sanders and date from 1709. The other two bells are dated 1858 and were cast by G. Mears of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry. (
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"Bells
Today there are seven bells – all of them are dated. Five have the date 1709 with references to England gaining victory over the French in the War of the Spanish Succession. The other two are dated 1858. Between the 16th and 18th centuries one bell, known as the Dagtail, was rung hourly between 6am and 6pm for the labourers in the fields. In April 1910 muffled bells were rung each evening between 6th April, the day Edward VII died, and his funeral on the 20th. When Queen Elizabeth II was crowned on 2nd June 1953, the bells were rung four times." SOURCE: (
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Details can be seen on the Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers site at the following link: (
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There are 17 valid peals listed for this tower, details can be seen on the Felstead Database at the following link: (
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'The church is floodlit at night and is prominently situated within a small elevated churchyard within the village Conservation Area in and adjacent to the main London Road (A50).
The churchyard is largely grassed and houses the village War Memorial on the north side. The churchyard is no longer used for burials which are carried out in the separate Knutsford Road (A50) churchyard nearby.' Source: (
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