St Lawrence's Church, Over Peover

St Lawrence’s Church stands in the quiet civil parish of Peover Superior, three miles south of Knutsford in north-west England. Close to Peover Hall and farm, it is an active Anglican parish church with a Grade I listing. The church preserves old chapels and monuments to the Mainwaring family. Its tower was built in brick in 1739, while the nave and chancel were rebuilt in brick in 1811. During the Second World War, General George Patton and his staff worshipped here while stationed at Peover Hall. The church’s exterior shows a west tower in three stages with round and arched bell-windows. The south chapel has two bays with buttresses, gargoyles and a battlemented parapet. The north chapel is one of the earliest regular classical buildings in the region. Inside, the south chapel holds a canopied tomb with effigies of Randle Mainwaring in plate armour and his wife Margery. The north chapel contains marble effigies of Philip Mainwaring and Ellen, with a bear at her feet. In the chancel are 15th-century effigies of Mainwaring family members and a 15th-century font on a later base. The organ was built in 1898 by Jardine, and there is a ring of three bells dated around 1500, 1626 and 1669. The churchyard has a 15th-century cross base with a modern cross, a 19th-century sundial made from the old cross shaft, and war graves from the two world wars.