Flagging Down Visitors

Have you ever been to St. Mary’s for a service and thought 'I’d really like to explore this beautiful historic building, but I can’t right now…'?

From Sunday 4 March, we shall be opening the church every Sunday afternoon from 2 pm to 4pm. Two flags will be placed outside, so that everyone knows that the church is open for visitors to explore the history, enjoy the beauty or experience the peace.

There has probably been a place of Christian worship on the hill in Bowdon since Saxon times. A fragment of a Saxon cross discovered on the site is on display in a side chapel. An entry in the Domesday Book of 1086 records a church on the hill at Bowdon, and all her past priests and vicars, from the first recorded name of Gilbert in 1210, are recorded on boards in the church. The present church is probably the fifth to stand on the site. In the middle of the 19th century, at the height of the industrial prosperity of the North West and in the affluent cotton community of Bowdon, the 16th century church was radically re-built under the architect William Breakspear and was consecrated in 1860.

When you enter the present Victorian church you will discover items from the earlier buildings: a medieval font; the effigy of a knight, reputed to be Sir William Baguley; an oak chest, dated 1635; and much more. You will also see stained glass windows and family memorials both ancient and modern. Visitors can pick up a guide on entering the church, and there is a treasure hunt especially for children.

You may feel that as a non-believer or as an adherent of another faith you would not be welcome in St Mary’s. Not at all … come and see! Ann Ford