St Mary's Church, Acton facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Mary's Church, Acton |
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St Mary's Church, Acton, from the southwest
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| OS grid reference | SJ 631,531 |
| Location | Monk's Lane Acton, Cheshire |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Website | St Mary, Acton |
| History | |
| Status | Parish church |
| Dedication | St Mary |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | Grade I |
| Designated | 12 January 1967 |
| Architect(s) | Austin and Paley (restoration) |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Gothic, Gothic Revival |
| Completed | 1898 |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Red sandstone, lead roof |
| Administration | |
| Deanery | Nantwich |
| Archdeaconry | Macclesfield |
| Diocese | Chester |
| Province | York |
St Mary's Church is an old and important church in the village of Acton, near Nantwich, Cheshire, England. It's an active Anglican parish church, which means it's a local church for the community. Since 1967, it has been listed as a Grade I building, showing how special and historic it is.
There has been a church on this spot for a very long time, even before the Domesday Book was written in 1086. The church's tower is the oldest in Cheshire, built around 1180. However, it had to be largely rebuilt after it fell down in 1757! Inside, you can still see old stone seats around the sides, which is quite unusual. You can also find ancient carved stones from the Norman period in the south aisle. St Mary's is considered one of the 'best' English parish churches. In the churchyard, there's a tall sundial from the 1600s.
Contents
History of St Mary's Church
A church with two priests was recorded here in the Domesday Book, showing it was important even then. In the early 1100s, the church and its lands were given to Combermere Abbey. After the monasteries were closed down in the 1500s, the church's ownership passed to the Wilbraham family and then to the Lords Tollemache.
The church's tower was built around 1180, making it the oldest tower in Cheshire. It was originally over 30 metres (100 feet) tall. But in March 1757, a storm caused the top of the tower to collapse, damaging the church roof. It was rebuilt, but only to a height of about 24 metres (80 feet).
The north side of the church was built in the late 1300s, and the south side and main altar area (chancel) were built in the early 1400s. During the English Civil War in the 1600s, the church's inside was damaged. It was repaired several times in the 1600s and 1700s. Then, in 1897–98, architects Austin and Paley did a big restoration. They put in new floors and roofs, removed old plaster, rebuilt parts of the walls, added heating, and installed a new pulpit, porches, and doors.
Church Design and Features
The church is built from red sandstone and has a lead roof. The tower is actually inside the main part of the church, with arches leading into the central area (nave) and the side aisles. These arches, along with the narrow windows and flat supports (buttresses), are from the 1200s. It's rare to find such old tower features in Cheshire. The top parts of the tower, rebuilt after it fell in 1757, show an early Gothic Revival style.
The main part of the church (nave) has four sections, with north and south aisles that have six sections each. The chancel, where the altar is, has three sections with a room for clergy (vestry) on its north side. The columns (piers) supporting the arches inside are from the 1200s, while the tops of these columns (capitals) were added during the 1800s restoration. Most of the church's body is in a style called Perpendicular Gothic.
At the east end of the north aisle is the Mainwaring chapel, which was once a special chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary. On the north side of the tower is the Dorfold chapel. An interesting and unusual feature is that the old stone seats around the sides of the church are still there.
Inside the Church: Fittings and Furniture
In the Mainwaring chapel, you can see the tomb of Sir William Mainwaring, who died in 1399. His stone figure (effigy) shows him lying down, dressed in plate armour like a knight. His head rests on a helmet, and he wears a gold chain.
At the east end of the south aisle, there's a marble tomb for Sir Richard Wilbraham (1578–1643) and his son Sir Thomas Wilbraham (1601–1660), along with their wives. It includes marble figures of Sir Thomas and his wife. Also in the south aisle is an old piscina, which is a basin used for washing sacred vessels. In the chancel, there's another piscina and a sedilia (stone seats for clergy), both a bit damaged.
The screen in the Dorfold chapel is from 1685, and the screen separating the chancel from the nave is from a later date. The communion rail, where people receive communion, is also from 1685. An 18th-century brass chandelier hangs in the church. The beautiful stained glass windows in the east and south aisles were made by Charles Eamer Kempe between 1885 and 1888. The reredos (decorated screen behind the altar) shows the Ten Commandments on one side and the Lord's Prayer and Creed on the other. The carved oak pulpit (where sermons are given) and the oak eagle lectern (where readings are done) are from the 1800s.
The font, used for baptisms, has a Norman bowl (from the 1000s or 1100s) with a lead lining, set on a 19th-century base. It has carved figures and simple decorations. For many years, it was in the garden of nearby Dorfold Hall before being brought back into the church.
At the east end of the south aisle, there are some very old carved stones, some made of sandstone and others of limestone. The limestone stones might be from the late 1000s, and the sandstone ones from around 1100. These are considered some of the most important Romanesque sculpture in England.
The church has a ring of six bells. Five were made in the 1700s, and the sixth in 1893. The church's records of births, marriages, and deaths (parish registers) start in 1653. The two-manual organ was built in 1897 and has been updated twice since then.
Outside the Church
In the churchyard, there's a tall sandstone sundial that stands over 3.6 metres (12 feet) high. It was originally a medieval Christian cross that was turned into a sundial in the late 1600s. It has an octagonal shaft on three steps, topped with a square cap and a ball. Each side of the top has a sundial face. This sundial is a protected historical site and a Grade II listed building. The red sandstone wall around the churchyard is also listed as Grade II and was likely rebuilt in 1897.
The churchyard is also the resting place for five Commonwealth service members who died in World War I and World War II.
To the north of the church are some old almshouses (homes for poor people) from the early 1600s, also listed as Grade II.
A famous person buried here is A. N. Hornby (1847–1925). He was an amazing sportsman who played cricket for Lancashire and England. He was one of only two people to captain his country in both cricket and rugby! He's also remembered as the England cricket captain whose team lost the match that led to the creation of The Ashes in 1882. He even played football for Blackburn Rovers. He was mentioned in a famous cricket poem called At Lord's by Francis Thompson.
Current Activities
St Mary's is still a very active Anglican parish church today. It's part of a group of churches called the Cross Country Group, which includes St Bartholomew's, Church Minshull; St Oswald's, Worleston; and St David's, Wettenhall. These churches share a vicar (Rev Anne Lawson) and three readers.
St Mary's usually holds two or three services every Sunday and a Holy Communion service each Wednesday. The group of churches also runs community activities like "Praise & Play" for young children and their caregivers, a youth club called "Holy Disorder," and the 1st Darnhall Guides and Brownies. The church is open for visitors and private prayers on Wednesday mornings.
See also
- Grade I listed churches in Cheshire
- List of Scheduled Monuments in Cheshire (1066–1539)
- Listed buildings in Acton, Cheshire
- Norman architecture in Cheshire
- List of ecclesiastical works by Austin and Paley (1895–1914)
