St Mary the Virgin

St Mary’s is part of the Peak Parishes Benefice and is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.

The original church, built in 1402 on the authority of a Bull issued by Pope Boniface IX while Henry IV was King of England, was a Chapel of Ease to the Parish Church of Prestbury. The Tower was built of local sandstone, the nave and chancel were timber and plaster and the roof thatched. It was burnt down in 1770 leaving only the tower. After the fire the ancient font was used as a pig trough in a local farm, it was rescued and replaced on a new pedestal in 1848. A list of ministers by the entrance goes back to 1596. John Thorley, minister from 1728-65 lived in the church tower which was the customary residence of the minister. The tower contains a peal of six bells, the oldest dated 1663, most with inscriptions.

The nearby North Staffordshire Railway line and viaducts crossing the River Dane were constructed about this time and Rev. William Sutcliffe undertook the chaplaincy of about 2,000 navies. There is a wall monument in church to John William Nowell, who died in 1851, a railway contractor who was probably involved in the construction.

The ‘Jacobean’ carved oak pulpit probably dates from the rebuilding of the church after the fire, and the big old oak chest with the marks of the adze when the wood was cut, has three locks and was probably used for the keeping of registers, communion vessels and other valuables. Outside, to the south of the nave, is a sundial dated 1652 on a stone plinth, which could have originally been a cross, destroyed at the time of Cromwell. The cross would have been used as the place for worship before there was a church. The oldest grave left with a visible inscription is dated 1671. There is also a war grave from WWI for Private William Barnes. A Roll of Honour plaque for local men adorns the north wall.