St Chad's Chapel, Tushingham

St Chad’s Chapel stands alone in the fields near Tushingham in Cheshire, reached only by footpaths from the A41. The Grade I listed building is the oldest place of worship in the scattered parish of Tushingham-cum-Grindley, Macefen and Bradley. A chapel of ease to St Oswald’s Church at Malpas is recorded in deeds from 1349. By 1621 it was called Chadwick Chapel, and by 1636 simply Chad Chapel. In 1689–91 it was rebuilt with money from John Dod, a London mercer born in Tushingham. The chapel has been little changed since the late 17th century and remains consecrated. Monthly Sunday evening services are held in summer, including a Rushbearing Service each August when rushes are laid on the floor. The building is constructed of brown brick with a grey slate roof and a small west tower. Inside, the oak furnishings include family box pews, a Jacobean-style font and a three-decker pulpit. The nave roof shows star-like carvings between the beams. Outside, a brick hearse-house dated 1822 stands beside the chapel. It has a matching pyramidal slate roof and is itself Grade II listed. The chapel’s west tower has a loophole above the door and paired bell-openings below the belfry band. A low screen separates the chancel from the nave, and the royal coat of arms of George III hangs above the east windows.