The Church of St Mary the Virgin is in Leek Road,

Bosley Bosley is a village and civil parish in Cheshire, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 406.Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, a ...

as a designated Grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. It is an active Anglican

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

in the

diocese of Chester The Diocese of Chester is a Church of England diocese in the Province of York covering the pre-1974 county of Cheshire and therefore including the Wirral and parts of Stockport, Trafford and Tameside. History Ancient diocese Before the si ...

, the archdeaconry of Macclesfield, and the deanery of Macclesfield. Its benefice is combined with those of St Michael, North Rode, St Michael, Wincle, and St Saviour, Wildboarclough.

History

This church was initially a chapel of ease to the

of Prestbury and was dedicated to Saint Thomas the Martyr. Later the dedication was changed to Saint Lawrence, and later again to Saint Mary the Virgin. In response to a petition by the parishioners a papal bull was issued by

Pope Boniface IX Pope Boniface IX ( la, Bonifatius IX; it, Bonifacio IX; c. 1350 – 1 October 1404, born Pietro Tomacelli) was head of the Catholic Church from 2 November 1389 to his death in October 1404. He was the second Roman pope of the Western Schism.Rich ...

in 1402 granting the church greater independence. The church was originally a

timber-framed Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large woode ...

church with a stone tower. The red

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

tower dates from about 1500. In 1777 the church, apart from the tower, was rebuilt in brick. A chancel designed by James Green was added in 1834. In 1878–79 new bells were installed, the tower was raised by , and some of the original

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

stonework was removed.

Architecture

Exterior

The tower is built of red

, the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

and

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ov ...

of brick, with roofs of large grey slates. The tower has three stages with a 19th-century west door in a medieval arch, above which is a window with two lights. The top of the tower is

battlement A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interv ...

ed. The plan of the body of the church consists of a four- bay nave and a one-bay chancel, and a lean-to

vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquiall ...

to the north of the tower. The tower is in

Perpendicular In elementary geometry, two geometric objects are perpendicular if they intersect at a right angle (90 degrees or π/2 radians). The condition of perpendicularity may be represented graphically using the ''perpendicular symbol'', ⟂. It ca ...

style. The nave windows are wide and slightly pointed; those in the chancel are lancets.

Interior

In the church is a late 18th-century altar table, a 17th-century oak pulpit, sanctuary chairs from the same period, and a parish chest dating probably from the 16th century. The organ is dated 1879 and the stone font is also from the 19th century. In the church is a monument to John Willans Newell, a railway engineer, who died in 1851. This includes a female figure, a sarcophagus, an urn, and an amphora containing flowers. The stained glass in the east window and in two of the side windows dates from the 1960s, and is by Harcourt M. Doyle. There is a

ring Ring may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell :(hence) to initiate a telephone connection Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...

of six bells, the oldest bell by George Oldfield I being dated 1663. Two bells dated 1756 are by

Rudhall of Gloucester Rudhall of Gloucester was a family business of bell founders in the city of Gloucester, England, who between 1684 and 1835 cast more than 5,000 bells. History There had been a tradition of bell casting in Gloucester since before the 14th century. ...

and another two bells, dated 1927 and 1934 are by

Gillett & Johnston Gillett & Johnston was a clockmaker and bell foundry based in Croydon, England from 1844 until 1957. Between 1844 and 1950, over 14,000 tower clocks were made at the works. The company's most successful and prominent period of activity as a be ...

. The maker of the sixth bell has not been identified. The

parish register A parish register in an ecclesiastical parish is a handwritten volume, normally kept in the parish church in which certain details of religious ceremonies marking major events such as baptisms (together with the dates and names of the parents), ma ...

s begin in 1728.

External features

In the church yard is a sundial (with the gnomon missing) dating probably from the early 19th century. It consists of a copper dial on a short tapered square gritstone shaft with a square head standing on a weathered red

base.

Churchwarden A churchwarden is a lay official in a parish or congregation of the Anglican Communion or Catholic Church, usually working as a part-time volunteer. In the Anglican tradition, holders of these positions are ''ex officio'' members of the parish b ...

s' initials are engraved on the dial. It is listed at Grade II. The churchyard contains the

war grave A war grave is a burial place for members of the armed forces or civilians who died during military campaigns or operations. Definition The term "war grave" does not only apply to graves: ships sunk during wartime are often considered to b ...

of a

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Canadian soldier.

References

External links

Photographs by Craig Thornber
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bosley, Church of St Mary the Virgin Church of England church buildings in Cheshire Grade II* listed churches in Cheshire Diocese of Chester