Places: Tilston

TILSTON 

The parish of Tilston lies in the south west of Cheshire, on the edge of the Broxton Hills. It comprised the townships of Tilston, Carden, Grafton, Horton and Stretton.

The advowson of the parish belonged to the divided manor of Tilston which was owned by a succession of families, the right of presentation to the living being exercised alternately by the two owners. The rectors owned the tithes. 

The parish church, built of red sandstone, is situated to the south of the village of Tilston, a short distance from the village. The oldest part of the building is the tower, dating from the fifteenth century which retains its original gargoyles. There was an earlier building on the site of which nothing now remains. Within the church a chapel appropriated to Stretton Hall dates from 1659 and is situated on the north side of the building. There was a major restoration of the church by John Douglas in the nineteenth century in the course of which most of the church was rebuilt.

Outside the church, the gate piers in sandstone feature skull and crossbones and the date 1688 is inscribed to the right. There is the base of a medieval cross in the churchyard, which had been altered to incorporate a sundial.

The area of the parish remains largely rural.

Sources:

George Ormerod, The History of the County Palatine and City of Chester, vol. 2 (second edition, revised and enlarged by T. Helsby, London, 1882).