History

Our parish church

St Barnabas is the parish church for Bromborough and Bromborough Pool. We are in the diocese of Chester and within the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of Wirral South.

A Grade II* listed building, St Barnabas stands within the boundary of the Bromborough Village Conservation Area. 

The first church on the site was built in 928. The church was adjacent to a monastery which, founded in 912, stood for 900 years. In 1828, it was demolished and replaced. 

Growth

The community was enjoying a period of growth – meaning there were more people to accommodate, and with them, the wealth to build. This continuing expansion meant that it wasn’t long before the church needed to be replaced again.

Scott’s new church

Sir George Gilbert Scott was commissioned to design a new church and construction began in 1862. The new building was built on a scale that was able to serve the residents of the new large houses that had been built in the town. The new church was completed in 1864.

Exterior

In the churchyard are three Anglo-Saxon carved stones which have been reconstructed to form a cross.

The church is built from local red Triassic sandstone with a slate roof. Its plan consists of a nave with clerestory, north and south aisles under lean-to roofs, a chancel with a semicircular apse, a south vestry and a northeast tower with a broach spire. It is built in Early English style.

Interior

The sanctuary contains trefoil blind arcading. The reredos is a sculpted relief depicting The Last Supper. The font and pulpit are octagonal. The wooden screens and stalls are dated 1900. Most of the stained glass is by Clayton and Bell. The east window is by Ballantyne and Son. 

The three-manual organ was built around 1923 by Rushworth and Dreaper of Liverpool. It’s one of the few organs of it type remaining its original condition. You can read more about the instrument here: NPOR

There is a ring of eight bells, which are all dated 1880 by John Taylor and Company. The bells were donated by the Bamford family, who lived in Bromborough.