St Mary's Church is in the town of

Sandbach Sandbach (pronounced ) is the name of a historic market town and a civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East, Cheshire, England. The civil parish contains four settlements: Sandbach itself as the largest, Elworth, Ettiley Heath a ...

, Cheshire, England. The church 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 Congleton.

History

The

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...

(c. 1086) records the presence of a priest and a church on the site of the present church, and it is shown on an 1840 map of the town centre of Sandbach. This was replaced by another church erected about the time of Henry VII. This church was built in

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 ...

which became badly

weathered ''Weathered'' is the third studio album by American rock band Creed, released on November 20, 2001. It was the last Creed album to be released until '' Full Circle'' came out in October 2009, with Creed disbanding in June 2004. It is the only Cr ...

. The present church dates largely from the considerable degree of rebuilding by Sir George Gilbert Scott in 1847–49. Much of the existing fabric was replaced and the remaining fabric was encased in new stone. The east end of the church was extended by some and the tower was rebuilt as a copy of the former tower. The builders were Cooper and Son of Derby. The stone, which came from quarries in the

Mow Cop Mow Cop is a village split between Cheshire and Staffordshire, and therefore divided between the North West and West Midlands regions of England. It is south of Manchester and north of Stoke-on-Trent, on a steep hill of the same name rising ...

area, was given by Sir Philip Grey Egerton M.P. Part of the west end had to be repaired in 1894–95 following a fire. In 1930

Austin and Paley Sharpe, Paley and Austin are the surnames of architects who practised in Lancaster, Lancashire, England, between 1835 and 1946, working either alone or in partnership. The full names of the principals in their practice, which went under vario ...

added a choir

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 ...

, and a north porch, at a cost of £1,331. 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 date from 1562 and are complete. The

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' accounts prior to 1888 are lost.

Architecture

Exterior

The plan of the church consists of a clerestoried

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 a choir of five bays, with

aisle An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, par ...

s, side chapels, and a tower at the west end. The choir vestry projects from the northwest. The tower is unusual in that it stands on three open arches through which passes a public footpath. The style is mainly

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 ...

and some

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 ...

masonry is still present in the arcades.

Interior

The font dates from 1859; it is made of

Caen stone Caen stone (french: Pierre de Caen) is a light creamy-yellow Jurassic limestone quarried in north-western France near the city of Caen. The limestone is a fine grained oolitic limestone formed in shallow water lagoons in the Bathonian Age about ...

and was constructed by Thomas Stringer. It has a Greek Palindrome inscription, that reads "NIYON ANOMHMA MH MONAN OYINE". This translated means "Wash my sin not my countenance only".Sandbach Guide 1970 page 9 The old octagonal font dated 1669 and decorated with acanthus leaves, was returned to the church in 1938. Scott arranged the memorials around the walls of the aisles. One of these is a

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

to the memory of Rev. John Armistead, who was vicar from 1828 to 1865. It was designed by G. F. Watts and sculpted by George Nelson in 1876. Another is to John Ford, who died in 1839, which includes a life-size

allegorical As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory t ...

female figure by an altar. The roofs are dated 1661. The roof over the north aisle includes a large

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

in a wreath. In the chapels and chancels is stained glass by

William Wailes William Wailes (1808–1881) was the proprietor of one of England's largest and most prolific stained glass workshops. Life and career Wailes was born and grew up in Newcastle on Tyne, England's centre of domestic glass and bottle manufacturing. ...

, and in the north aisle is a window by Kempe.

Bells

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 eight bells. Four of the bells were cast by Abraham II Rudhall in 1719, and a bell dated 1782 is attributed to Thomas Rudhall. Three later bells by John Warner and Sons are dated 1857, 1858 and 1868.

External features

The churchyard walls, gateways and railings to south-east and north of the church are listed at Grade II. The churchyard contains the

war graves War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regu ...

of fourteen service personnel, eleven of

World War I 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 ...

and three of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Rectors, vicars and curates

Rectors c.1100–1256

*before 1128: Steinulf the Priest *before 1153: Roger de Lech *c.1230: Thomas

Vicars c.1300–1887

*Before 1327: Richard Burgillion (d.1327) *7 April 1327: Philip de Goodrich Castle (de Castro Godrici) *15 January 1344: William de Mere *23 June 1348: Thomas Chaumpain *7 September 1349: William de Upton (alias Welton) *15 October 1349: John de Tydrynton *7 March 1371: Randle del Ford *18 October 1401: Thomas de Hassall *21 September 1418: Thomas Hassall *7 May 1455: James Whiteacres *September 1465: Randle Penketh *7 March 1481: Roger Clifton *c.1517: Hugh Brereton *15 September 1535: Thomas Smyth *27 September 1548: Richard Smyth *19 May 1554: Peter Prestland *1565: Richard Smyth *23 May 1576: John Shaw *1616: Laurence Wood *16 November 1630: Thomas Tudman *1644: Joseph Cope (1622–1704) *c.1662: Thomas Tudman *15 May 1674: William Hayes *19 Mar 1695 Thomas Welles, M.A. *13 May 1729: Hugh Mee, M.A. *13 April 1733: Samuel Allon, B.A. *25 September 1736: Blayney Baldwyn, M.A. *13 May 1739: Henry Baldwyn, M.A. *21 April 1773: Peter Haddon, M.A. *13 January 1787: Richard Lowndes Salmon, M.A. *20 February 1828: John Armitstead, M.A. *20 October 1865: John Richard Armitstead, M.A. *1919: John Hornby Armitstead, M.A. *1941: Reginald Norton Betts, M.A. *1964: Geoffrey Thomas Wykes, B.A. *1972: John Basil Rigby (d.2001) *9 September 1983: David W.G. Stocker, B.A. *2001: Rex Buckley *2008: Thomas Shepherd, B.A. *2020: Bee Boyde Sources c.1100–1865. Sources: 1919–1983.John Minshull, ''A Short History and Description of St. Mary's Church Sandbach, Cheshire'', 1974, Publ. St Mary's Parochial Church Council. pp.10
Online here
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Curates

*1548: Ricardus Rudiarte *1565: Johannes Shawe *13 January 1573: unknown *20 May 1701: Galfridus Williams *1708: Gulielmus Repton *21 June – 7 July 1725, Ranulphus Hazlehurst *5 June 1733: Joseph Twemlowe *19 December 1737 – 13 July 1742: William Dickens *10 June 1745 – 6 August 1754: George Penlington *1 June 1760: John Sibson

References

Sources

External links

Church website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sandbach, St Mary's Church Church of England church buildings in Cheshire Grade II* listed churches in Cheshire Gothic Revival architecture in Cheshire Churches in Sandbach George Gilbert Scott buildings Sandbach Diocese of Chester Austin and Paley buildings English Gothic architecture in Cheshire