St Mary's Church, Nantwich

The first building on the site was a chapel of ease in the parish of Acton. In about 1130 both Acton church and Nantwich chapel came under control of the Cistercian abbey of Combermere. The building of the present church started in about 1340 in the Decorated style, which was the style most commonly used in English church building at that time. The masons, who came from Yorkshire, used local sandstone, probably from Eddisbury near Delamere. Building work was interrupted between 1349 and 1369, probably due to an outbreak of the Black Death plague. By the 1380s the town's prosperity had recovered and building work resumed. This phase of construction was carried out by master masons associated…

The church is built in red sandstone and is cruciform in shape. Its plan consists of a four-bay nave with north and south aisles, a south porch with two storeys, a central tower, north and south transepts, and a three-bay chancel, to the north of which is a two-storey treasury. The tower is square below and octagonal above. Both transepts are of three bays and the northernmost bay of the north transept was formerly a Lady chapel. The other two bays were dedicated to Saint George. The south transept was known as the Kingsley Chapel. Pevsner, in addition to complaining about some aspects of Scott's restoration, comments on the abrupt change from the Decorated to the Perpendicular style, no…

The church attracts large numbers each Sunday. It offers a range of services, from the traditional to the contemporary. During the week there are activities for children, young people and adults. The Rector is the Revd. Dr. Mark Hart. Other clergy include the Revd. Paul Wheeler, Curate. The Director of Music is Alison Phillips, and the Organist is Simon Russell. Various events, including concerts, are held in the church. Nantwich Choral Society perform in a number of venues and its "chosen venue" is St Mary's because "its acoustics are superb".