A Guide to St Margaret's Church

A guide to St Margaret’s Church About the guide: This guide takes the form of a walk around the Church, drawing particular attention to those features which illuminate the church and village life in previous centuries. St Margaret’s: The church has always been the heart of English village life. This medieval church in Wrenbury, situated opposite the village green, retains a number of features which give the visitor an insight into parochial life in past centuries. Customs and attitudes change with time, but the church remains – a worshipping congregation, a fine building and a focal point in the life of the village. The building here today was erected in about 1500 from red Cheshire sandstone, brought by trollies and ponies from the Bickerton hills, eight miles to the north-west. It was not the first church on the site. A chapel, probably black and white half timbered, existed here from the 12th century as a daughter chapel to Acton church, under a curate appointed by the priest of Acton. In about 1180, Acton and its chapels were given to the Cistercian monks of the local abbey at Combermere. The church is dedicated to St Margaret of Antioch, a popular figure in the Middle Ages, who was a 3rd century martyr and the patron saint of expectant mothers. It dates from the early 16th century and is a Grade II* listed building built of red sandstone ashlar1 with a slate roof. Its plan consists of a west tower, a five-bay clerestoried nave with narrow aisles, a chancel, and a south porch. 1 Ashlar is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared or the structure built of it. Our tour starts with the view from the gallery. Take the narrow staircase on the left, in the middle of the back (west) wall, which leads up to the gallery. The West Gallery Home to our impressive organ which was built by Charles Whitely of Chester and installed in 1884. From this elevated position you can see many aspects of the early 16th century style of architecture, called late Perpendicular, in which the main part of the church was built. Five pointed arches with slender octagonal pillars, separate the nave from the two side aisles and extra light brightens from the clerestory window above. The original 12th century chapel would have been much lower and darker. The oak tie-beam roof is also 15th century. The unusually vivid pink of the sandstone walls is the result of their being covered in plaster and whitewash for four and a half centuries. This was finally scraped of in 1938. This gallery, probably a replacement, was built in 1791 at a cost of fifteen guineas. It accommodated the band and a group of singers. The villagers played such instruments as bass viol, flute, trumpet, oboe and fiddle, but were supplanted by the organ in 1884. The singers continued to use the gallery for some years after that until Rev Norwood was informed that they were in the habit of playing cards during the sermon. He promptly brought them down into the chancel. The memorial tablet to Samuel Sproston, 1858, is placed where it is, on the wall to your left, because of church seating arrangements in previous centuries. As the owner of Sproston Wood House, he and his family always occupied a pew on that side of the gallery. The right to certain pews traditionally accompanied the ownership of a property. The Baptistery The sandstone font dates from the end of the 16th century. At that time, the water blessed for baptism was left in the font for many weeks, so the heavy wooden lid was provided to keep it clean. On the pillar behind the font you can see a number of masons’ marks scratched onto the stone (rather like the marks on a dressmaker’s pattern). Each mason had his own mark which he carved on the finished block of stone to identify his work, both to enable the master mason to maintain high standards, and to make sure that the wages clerk knew who to recompense. The photographs show how the church looked early in the 20th century; the walls covered in plaster, all the pews nearly a foot higher than at present, and a very large pew, owned by the Starkeys, one of the important local families, taking up all the space on the other end of this aisle. When this dominant feature was taken down in 1938, the sturdy oak panels were used to line the walls around the font. It was originally 5ft 7in high, so you can imagine how secluded the Starkeys were inside their box, which was also carpeted and furnished with comfortable seats and a table. To the right of the photographs is a list of the clergy who have ministered here. Their status has changed over the years. Before the reformation, the priests’ names were not recorded. Since Wrenbury Chapel belonged to Combermere Abbey and was not a parish in its own right, it was the responsibility of the monks to ensure that the Mass was said here regularly, probably by one of their own number. After the dissolution of the abbey in 1542, it remained the chapelry in the charge of the vicar of Acton who appointed the “curate” (he was not allowed to be called “vicar”). This gentleman also received a large part of the money and goods paid as “tithe” (one tenth of all produce) by the people of Wrenbury, who were not very pleased to see their money going out of the parish. Imagine the resulting disputes. Nowadays, the custom of tithes has ceased, and the clergy are known as “Vicar”. They are also responsible for the neighbouring churches of Burleydam, built in 1769, and Baddiley – an attractive little church, with half-timbered chancel, in a rural setting, three miles to the north. The Stained glass window behind the font, showing Jesus blessing the little children, is inscribed to the memory of John Webster, Vicar here for 20 years earlier this century; and the one at the opposite end of this side aisle, depicting the ascension of Jesus to heaven, is to Charles Aldis, a much loved 19th Century Vicar. Behind the list of incumbents you will notice a blocked up doorway2, originally one of four doors to the church. This one in the north wall was traditionally opened during baptism to allow the devil to escape from the infant. Now only the porch door is felt to be necessary in a building of this size. 2 At the time of writing, the PCC have submitted plans and are fundraising to re-open this door and build an accessible toilet and boiler house beyond it. Go back towards the door and turn left towards the Nave The Nave This is one of only nine churches in Cheshire which retain their box pews. The pews were installed in 1608 in the usual style of the time. At four feet high they kept out drafts in an unheated church, and enabled occupants to concentrate on prayer (or nod off to sleep), unobserved by their neighbours. Although lowered and altered for comfort earlier this century, they still create an impression of what it was like to worship in the 17th and 18th centuries. When new doors were added in the late 17th Century they were decorated with the coat of arms of the local gentry who owned them, so that the families, servants and tenants knew which pews they were entitled to occupy during services: the well to do near the front, poorer tenants further back. Perhaps a number of long running disputes between local families over the rights to seats in certain pews led to this system of labelling. Notice that the greatest number belonged to the Cottons, an important wealthy family who bought Combermere Abbey at the dissolution and who became Lords of Combermere in 1814. Seventeenth century Wrenbury Hall was the new home of the Starkey family, prominent local landowners, until 1920. It is reputed to have sheltered the Parliamentary forces in 1643 when Nantwich was besieged during the Civil War. Since 1410 the Starkeys had lived in the mediaeval manor house now called Tudor Rose Farm on the Nantwich Road. The family crest of a black crane can be seen on the north side nave pews, the opposing pews being rented to the Cotton family. The beautifully made kneelers, a recent contribution by the ladies of the parish, depict symbols of the Christian faith. Reverend Gilbert Vaudrey presented the elaborate two tier brass chandelier to the church in 1839. It was made in Birmingham early in the century. The details are inscribed on the base. Still looking up, you can see two diamond shaped, painted wooden panels, called “Hatchments”, which belonged to the Cotton family. Such influential families hung these armorial boards on their gates for a year following the death of the Master or Mistress of the house, before placing them in the local church. The one on your left is to the first Viscount Combermere, who died in 1865. For a description of his life, see the section on “memorials” below. The one on your right is that of his son, the second viscount, who died in 1891. Continue up the nave towards the chancel. The following statement appears in the Churchwarden’s accounts for 1778; “John Wilkinson, joiner of Aston, agreed with parishioners to erect a new pulpit of good English oak, for the sum of 18 guineas”.

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