Congregational Church, Hoylake
History
The church was built in 1905–06, and designed by the Chester architects Douglas and Minshull. It was originally a Congregational church. As of 2017 it is an independent evangelical church now known as Hope Church Wirral.
Architecture
Exterior
Constructed in red brick with sandstone dressings and standing on a sandstone plinth, the church is roofed with Westmorland slates. Its plan consists of a five-bay nave with a clerestory, north and south aisles, a southwest porch, north and south transepts, and an apse at the east end. It originally had a flèche over the crossing, but this was damaged in the Second World War, and has not been replaced. At the west end is a six-light window containing Perpendicular tracery. This is flanked by buttresses, and on the corners are crocketed pinnacles. The clerestory contains three-light windows, and along the sides of the aisles are lancet windows. In the apse are two and three-light windows.
Interior
The interior of the church is clad in sandstone, and has a hammerbeam roof. The floor at the east end of the church is in black and white marble. The font consists of a curved bowl on four large buttresses. The furnishings were made by James Merritt, and include simple benches and an elaborate pulpit. The stained glass in the windows at the east end, dating from 1922, is by H. G. Hiller, and there are two windows in the aisles by A. J. Davies dating from the 1920s. The three-manual pipe organ was made by Hope-Jones, and subsequently cleaned and altered by Norman and Beard.