St Mary's Church, Rostherne

Little is known about the early history of the church. There is no reference to a church at Rostherne in the Domesday Book but a deed dated 1188 states that a church had been built and endowed on the site. A steeple was built in 1533. In 1666 there was an inscription on the south side of the tower seeking prayers for the soul of William Hardwick and for his Parishioners. The present tower was erected and the body of the church which had been damaged by the fall was rebuilt between 1742 and 1744, the architect being John Rowson. The chancel and north vestry date from 1888 and are by Sir Arthur Blomfield. The south porch dates from around 1886. The restoration of the church was commissioned…

The interior of the church has a mixture of Gothic and classical styles. In the chancel is the recumbent effigy of a knight dating from around the reign of Henry III which came to light as a result of the fall of the tower in 1741. Elsewhere in the church is the freestanding memorial to Charlotte Lucy Beatrix Egerton who drowned in Rostherne Mere on the eve of her wedding in 1845. It is by Richard Westmacott Jr. and depicts Charlotte lying on her side with an angel stooping over her. There is a ring of six bells, the oldest of which date from 1630 and 1655. The other four were cast by Rudhall of Gloucester in 1717, 1771, 1782 and 1785. The parish registers begin in 1595 and the…

The 2022 Christmas special episode of Inside No. 9, "The Bones of St Nicholas", was filmed in its entirety in the church.