St Mary's Church, Dodleston

St Mary’s Church stands in the quiet village of Dodleston, Cheshire, beside the earthworks of a former motte-and-bailey castle. The present building is mainly a product of the 19th century, when Chester architect John Douglas rebuilt it in Perpendicular style in 1870. Only the tower base survives from the early 16th century, a fragment of the medieval church that once stood on the site.

The church’s red sandstone walls and grey slate roofs enclose a four-bay nave with a north aisle and a half-timbered north porch. Inside, visitors find the tomb of Thomas Egerton, 1st Viscount Brackley, who died in 1617, and his wife Elizabeth beneath the tower. A fragment of a medieval coffin rests on the floor, and the octagonal font probably dates from the 17th century. Six bells hang in the tower, the oldest dating from about 1500, and late 19th-century stained glass fills the east window.

Outside, a Grade II-listed lych gate with oak frame and Westmorland-slate roof shelters the entrance. The churchyard contains a sundial dated 1732, and pitted marks on the north wall of the tower are said to come from Civil War musket fire. The registers begin in 1570, though some years are missing.