| Church of St Mary the Virgin, Wistaston | |
|---|---|
 Church of St Mary the Virgin, Wistaston, from the southwest | |
  Church of St Mary the Virgin, Wistaston Location in Cheshire | |
| 53°04′44″N 2°28′38″W / 53.0789°N 2.4772°W | |
| OS grid reference | SJ 682 536 |
| Location | Wistaston, Cheshire |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Website | Website[1] |
| History | |
| Status | Parish church |
| Dedication | Virgin Mary |
| Consecrated | 1828 |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | Grade II |
| Designated | 12 January 1967 |
| Architect(s) | George Latham |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Georgian |
| Completed | 1905 |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Brick with slate roof |
| Administration | |
| Province | York |
| Diocese | Chester |
| Archdeaconry | Macclesfield |
| Deanery | Nantwich |
| Parish | Wistaston |
| Clergy | |
| Rector | Rev. Mike Turnbull |
The Church of St Mary the Virgin is in the village of Wistaston, Cheshire, England. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.[1] It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Macclesfield and the deanery of Nantwich.[2]
It is believed that there has been a church or chapel on or near the present site for nearly 700 years. The first record of a rector goes back to 1379. The first church on the site would have been a wooden building. The existing records start in 1572. In 1827 the decision was taken that "due to decay it [the church] was unsuitable for public worship".[3] The present church was built in 1827–28 to a design by George Latham. The chancel was lengthened, and a transept was added in 1884.[4] Further alterations were made in 1905.[1]
The church is built in brick with a slate roof. Its plan consists of a west tower, a nave and a chancel.[1] The architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner considered that the church is "entirely Georgian" in style and that this style was maintained in the 1884 additions.[4]
The chancel has oak panelling with carvings of sunflowers. The reredos contains representations of the Agnus Dei and Alpha and Omega signs. The right hand chancel window is to a design of Burne-Jones and was made by Morris and Company.[1] In the church is a parish chest dated 1684 and a number of wall memorials dating from the 19th century.[5] The two-manual organ was built by Hill in 1884 and in 1890 it was moved from the west gallery to the south of the chancel.[6] There is a ring of eight bells. Six of these were cast by Gillett & Johnston in 1920 and the other two in 1982 by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry.[7]
The churchyard contains the war graves of three soldiers and an airman of World War I, and three soldiers of World War II.[8] It also contains the local war memorial. [9] [10]
