ECCLESTON

Although there was a lengthy dispute in the late thirteenth century about whether Eccleston was a chapelry of Croston, or a parish in its own right, the decision pronounced by the bishop of Coventry and Lichfield in 1317 was that Eccleston was, indeed, a parish. It comprised the townships of Eccleston, Heskin, Parbold and Wrightington and the chapelry of Douglas in Parbold.

The parish was situated to the west of the county, away from the more densely populated areas of Manchester and Preston and has been characterised as one of the ‘most Catholic’ parishes of the county (Haigh, p. 284). Bl. John Finch was born in Eccleston in about 1548. He converted to Catholicism and helped with the underground network of priests, sheltering some in his home. He was arrested and executed at Lancaster in 1584 after refusing to accept the Royal Supremacy.

The church is situated in the north of the parish. Part of the fourteenth century church building survives, comprising parts of the chancel and the lower part of the tower.

The building was reconstructed in the 18th century and although the original plan seems to have been to pull down the existing building and rebuild it entirely, this was not done and the churchwardens’ accounts record payments for repairs and rebuilding over the period from 1721 to 1737. It underwent subsequent substantial restoration work in the 19th century. The tower has no staircase and the only access to the belfry is by a ladder.

One moiety of the parish was given to the Benedictine Abbey of St Martin of Sées in Normandy shortly after the Norman Conquest and the remainder was given to the priory of Lancaster, a cell of that abbey, some two hundred years later. However, during the long periods of war with France the English monarchs seized some of the assets of alien monasteries so the rectors of Eccleston were often presented by the Crown until, in about 1430, the advowson was granted to Sir Thomas Stanley and so he and his successors, the earls of Derby, presented to the parish until 1596 when they sold it to Thomas Lathom of Parbold.

The parish was often held in plurality and for short periods, many of the rectors being non-resident.

There were coal mines and quarries for building stone in the parish and the cotton industry developed from the middle of the nineteenth century but much of the parish remained agricultural.

The black and white images are reproduced from volume 63 of the Transactions of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire by kind permission of The Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire.

Sources:

E. H. Burton and J. H. Pollen (eds.), Lives of the English Martyrs. Second Series. The Martyrs declared Venerable (London, 1914), vol. i (1583-1588), pp. 114-126

F. H. Cheetham., ‘Eccleston church in Leyland’, Transactions of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire, vols 63 (1891 and 1892), pp. 201-232. Available online: https://www.hslc.org.uk/journal/vol-63-1911

Christopher Haigh, Reformation and Resistance in Tudor Lancashire (Cambridge, 1975)

‘The parish of Eccleston’, in A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 6, ed. William Farrer, J Brownbill (London, 1911), British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol6/pp155-162 [accessed 19 February 2025]

‘Eccleston – Edgbaston’, in A Topographical Dictionary of England, ed. Samuel Lewis (London, 1848), British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/topographical-dict/england/pp139-144 [accessed 19 February 2025]

Historic England:
Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Towngate (1362129)
https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1362129 National Heritage List for England

ROSTHERNE (ROSTHORNE)

The parish of Rostherne is situated in the north-east of the county of Cheshire. It comprised the townships of Marthall with Little Warford, Mere, Millington, Rostherne, Snelson, Over Tabley and Tatton plus parts of Agden and Bollington and the chapelries of High Legh, Knutsford and Over Peover.

The advowson of the parish passed to the family of Venables of Kinderton in the reign of Edward III. They remained patrons until they sold the advowson to the Egerton family of Tatton in the eighteenth century. The church was appropriated by the Priory of Launde in Leicestershire in 1507. The appropriation by the priory was controversial, however, as it seems that the prior also claimed the advowson. In a Star Chamber case the prior alleged that in 1529 William Venables had organised ‘misdemeaned persons to the nombre of 100’ who ‘came violently to the church, and pulled the … vycar owte of his stall’ and installed their own candidate (Stewart-Brown, Lancashire and Cheshire cases in the court of Star Chamber, p. 110).

Following the surrender of the priory in December 1539 the parish remained in the hands of the king until he transferred it to Christ Church in about 1546. 

The parish church, situated to the north of the village of Rostherne is built of sandstone overlooking Rostherne Mere to the north with the M56 in the distance. There has been a church on the site since at least the twelfth century. The tower dates from 1744 and replaced a sixteenth-century steeple which had collapsed three years earlier, damaging the body of the church. Fortunately, the boys from the parish school, who were taught in the base of the tower, had left for the day when this collapse happened. The body of the church was comprehensively remodelled in 1888 although some late Tudor parts survive.

Outside the church, many of the gravestones in the older area of the churchyard have been laid flat. The lych gate, dating from 1640, is one of the oldest in Cheshire and has an unusual self-closing mechanism using a weight.

Although not as big as many Cheshire parishes, Rostherne did cover quite a large area and the Puritan minister, Adam Martindale, while vicar at Rostherne which was contiguous with Great Budworth, complained in the mid-seventeenth century that ‘the minister of Great Budworth and I had such vast parishes to go through, that multitudes of the people would be dead, in all probability, ere we could goe once over them’. Martindale faced this problem by preaching his Rostherne Sunday sermon again at High Legh and Tabley during the following week whenever he could (Parkinson (ed.), Life of Adam Martindale, p.122).

The parish remains a largely rural area.

Sources:

George Ormerod, The History of the County Palatine and City of Chester (second edition, revised and enlarged by T. Helsby, London, 1882), vol. i, pp. 429-439

Rev. F. Parkinson (ed.), Life of Adam Martindale (Chetham Society, old series, 4, 1845)

Raymond Richards, Old Cheshire Churches (Revised and enlarged edition, Didsbury, 1973), pp. 286-288

R. Stewart-Brown (ed.) Lancashire and Cheshire cases in the court of Star Chamber (part I) (The Record Society of Lancashire and Cheshire, 71, 1916-17)

‘Houses of Augustinian canons: The priory of Launde’, in A History of the County of Leicestershire: Volume 2, ed. W G Hoskins, R A McKinley (London, 1954), British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/leics/vol2/pp10-13 [accessed 12 February 2025]

‘Ross – Rothwell’, in A Topographical Dictionary of England, ed. Samuel Lewis (London, 1848), British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/topographical-dict/england/pp697-703 [accessed 12 February 2025]

Historic England
Church of St Mary, Rostherne Lane (1230301)
https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1230301  National Heritage List for England

MIDDLEWICH

The parish of Middlewich is situated in central Cheshire. It comprised the townships of Byley cum Yatehouse, Clive, Croxton, Kinderton, Middlewich, Minshull Vernon, Moresbarrow cum Parme, Newton, Occleston, Ravenscroft, Sproston, Stublach, Sutton, Weever and Wimboldsley cum Lea. The township of Middlewich is situated on junction of the Trent and Mersey Canal, dating from the late 1770s, and a branch of the Shropshire Union Canal. The main industry in the town was the manufacture of salt which was produced from brine springs and there was some silk manufacture.

The rectory of Middlewich was appropriated to the monastery of Lenton in Nottinghamshire in 1504, at which time it was worth £30 a year. After its dissolution in 1538 the advowson passed to the Crown and was sold to Sir William Brereton in 1607, with the appropriated rectory. In 1663 the advowson of the vicarage was acquired by the Lowe family. In 1817 the tithes and patronage of the vicarage were appropriated by a group of local landowners. Various early leases indicate that the vicar was to be paid an annual salary of 19 marks (£12 13s 4d) but in 1658, during the Interregnum, this was increased to £50 but this order for the increase was revoked following the Restoration.

The parish church is situated in the middle of the town of Middlewich. The oldest surviving parts of the church building date from the twelfth century but the chancel and most of nave were rebuilt in the late fourteenth century, and the tower was added about a hundred years later. The church was substantially restored in 1857-60. The chancel roof, dating from 1621, fell victim to death watch beetle and was replaced in 1951-2.

There were two battles in Middlewich during the Civil War, during the first battle in March 1642/3 the church was occupied by the royalists who were defeated by the parliamentarians. The church suffered some damage during the battle, following which the parliamentarian forces were said to have looted both the townspeople and the church. The second battle, some nine months later, was won by the royalists.

Sources:

George Ormerod, The History of the County Palatine and City of Chester (second edition, revised and enlarged by T. Helsby, London, 1882), vol. iii, pp. 173-186

Raymond Richards, Old Cheshire Churches (Revised and enlarged edition, Didsbury, 1973), pp. 234-237

B. Ll. Vaudrey, ‘Some notes on the parish church of Middlewich, Cheshire’, Transactions of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire, vol. 27 (1874-1875), pp. 1-12. Available online: https://www.hslc.org.uk/journal/vol-27-1874-1875/

‘House of Cluniac monks: The priory of Lenton’, in A History of the County of Nottingham: Volume 2, ed. William Page (London, 1910), British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/notts/vol2/pp91-100 [accessed 13 February 2025]

‘Middleton-in-Teesdale – Midley’, in A Topographical Dictionary of England, ed. Samuel Lewis (London, 1848), British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/topographical-dict/england/pp310-313 [accessed 13 February 2025]

A Guide to St Michael & All Angels church Middlewich, (second edition), leaflet available in the church

 Historic England
Church of St Michael and All Angels (1138795)
https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1138795  National Heritage List for England