St Stephen's Church, Prenton

St Stephen's Church is in Prenton Lane, Prenton, Birkenhead, Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Birkenhead, the archdeaconry of Chester, and the diocese of Chester. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.HistoryThe church was built in two phases. The first phase was in 1896–97, it was designed by C. E. Deacon, and comprised the four western bays of the nave and the porches. The second phase came in 1908–09, by Deacon and Horsburgh, when another bay was added to the nave, and the chancel and vestries were built. A tower and spire were planned above the west bay of the chancel, but these were never built.ArchitectureExteriorSt Stephen's is constructed in sandstone, and is in Gothic Revival style. The internal walls are in brick, and the roofs are tiled. Its plan consists of a nave with north and south aisles under lean-to roofs, projecting chapels at the east of the aisles, a chancel, and vestries. The west window has five lights. Along the walls of the aisles are groups of stepped lancet windows, two in the west and east bays, and four in the intermediate bays, and doorways towards the western ends. At the east end are buttresses with pyramildal roofs, and the east window consists of five stepped lancets.