St Mary's Church, Dodleston

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St Mary's Church, Dodleston

St Mary's Church, Dodleston
St Mary's Church, Dodleston (Cheshire)
St Mary's Church, Dodleston
Shown within Cheshire
Basic information
Location Dodleston, Cheshire, England
Geographic coordinates 53°08′33″N 2°57′12″W / 53.1425, -2.9532Coordinates: 53°08′33″N 2°57′12″W / 53.1425, -2.9532
Religious affiliation Anglican
District Diocese of Chester
Ecclesiastical status Parish church
Architectural description
Architect(s) John Douglas
Architectural type Church
Architectural style Gothic
Gothic Revival
Year completed 1870
Specifications
Materials Red sandstone, Grey slate roofs

St Mary's Church, Dodleston is in the village of Dodleston, Cheshire, England (grid reference SJ362610). It is a Grade II listed building.[1]

Contents

[edit] History

A church has been on this site, adjacent to a former motte and bailey castle, since at least medieval times but only the base of the tower, which dates from the early 16th century, remains. The remainder of the church was rebuilt in 1870 in perpendicular style by John Douglas.[1]

[edit] Structure

The church is built in red sandstone with grey slate roofs. Its plan consists of a four-bay nave with a north aisle, a chancel with a north vestry, and a half-timbered gabled north porch. The two-stage tower has a short spire within its crenellated parapet.[1] On the exterior north wall of the tower are pitted marks which are said to have been made by muskets fired during the Civil War.[2]

[edit] Fittings and furniture

Inside the church is a fragment of a medieval coffin, and a royal coat of arms of Charles II dated 1660 on the west wall. The tomb of Thomas Egerton, 1st Viscount Brackley, who died in 1617, and his wife, Elizabeth, is beneath the tower. The octagonal font probably dates from the 17th century. Late 19th century stained glass is in the east window.[1] The communion plate includes a chalice dated 1732.[3] The ring is of six bells of which three date from the 17th century or earlier. The parish registers begin in 1570 but are not complete.[4]

[edit] External features

The lych gate canopy and its wing walls are listed Grade II. The lych gate has an oak frame on a sandstone plinth and a half-hipped roof of Westmorland slate with a red tile ridge. The wing walls are of red sandstone.[5] In the churchyard is a sundial dated 1732.[4]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b c d Images of England: Church of St Mary, Dodleston. English Heritage. Retrieved on 2007-09-05.
  2. ^ Morant, Roland W. (1989). Cheshire Churches. Birkenhead: Countyvise, 129–130. ISBN 0 907768 18 0. 
  3. ^ Pevsner, Nikolaus; Edward Hubbard [1971] (2003). The Buildings of England: Cheshire. New Haven: Yale University Press, 200. ISBN 0 300 09588 0. 
  4. ^ a b Richards, Raymond (1947). Old Cheshire Churches. London: Batsford, 145–148. 
  5. ^ Images of England: Lychgate canopy and wingwalls, St Mary's. English Heritage. Retrieved on 2007-11-03.