Cradley Church, An Historical Tour

The tower arch

The pillars are early 12th Century. The present screen replaces an earlier solid partition with a doorway to the tower. Until 1868 there was a large west gallery which extended beyond the south door, reached via a staircase just inside the arch. The north aisle was added for additional seating previously provided by the gallery. The first reference to a gallery is when repairs to it were mentioned in the churchwardens’ accounts for 1789. Although its construction date is uncertain, it appears to have been built after 1717 as the window for it does not appear in the drawing for that date; it had seating for 80 people. A 1736 seating plan makes no mention of a gallery, although it does refer to a “triple-decker” pulpit. In 1841 the then Rector was authorised to enlarge the gallery at his own expense.

The tower arch

The tower arch map