Photo Detail

The elaborately decorated tester or boldakino

Medieval glass fragments

The Chapel before 1955

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Text Box: The Walmesley Chapel

The Walmesley Chapel

Text Box: The Walmesley Chapel also known as the Gerard Chapel is one of the oldest parts of the Church as it was not rebuilt in 1845. Whether anything remains of the original building is not clear, though the pillar and arches which divide it from the body of the church may possibly be late medieval.In the centre of the chapel is a stone slab, which covers the entrance to the family vault. It had the unusual position of being a Roman Catholic chapel in an English Parish Church. The Walmesleys relinquished their rights to the Chapel and handed it over to the Church in 1955. It was completely restored under the direction of JBS Comper. An Altar, under an elaborately decorated tester was set up and furnished, and an aumbrey, with a lamp of antique Italian silver, was built in the north wall. Also in the north window are medieval fragments of glass found in the restoration of 1845. the fragments date from the 14th and early 15th centuries and are of considerable interest because they are the only known fragments made by a medieval local school of glass painters in Lancashire. The chapel is now used regularly for the celebration of Holy Communion., and the Blessed Sacrament is reserved for the Communion of the sick.

WIGAN PARISH CHURCH