St Mary's Church, Thornton-le-Moors

St Mary’s Church stands in the quiet village of Thornton-le-Moors in Cheshire, built from red sandstone under slate roofs. A chapel stood on the site in Saxon times and appears in the Domesday Book, though the present nave, chancel and south aisle date from the 14th century. The tower was added in the 16th century, damaged by fire in 1909 and rebuilt the following year. An Elton Chapel was added in the 16th century, and a south porch in the late 17th century. The church closed in 2002 and was taken into the care of the Churches Conservation Trust in 2009 after repairs costing £350,000. The church is recognised as a Grade I listed building and holds fine medieval and later furnishings. The chancel still has its original hammerbeam roof, while the nave roof was replaced in pitch pine during the 1878 restoration. An oak screen separates the chancel from the Elton Chapel, where the organ now stands. The altar rails and table both bear the date 1694, and a medieval piscina survives in the aisle wall. Two 17th-century fonts are present, one of which once served as a garden vase. Painted memorial panels on the walls may be the work of the Randle Holme family of Chester. Outside, the churchyard contains Grade II-listed boundary walls and a table tomb, along with an octagonal sundial dated 1754. A war grave marks the resting place of a First World War soldier from the King’s Liverpool Regiment. The churchyard walls and gate piers form part of the heritage site, adding to the quiet dignity of the surroundings.