St Mary's Church, Eastham

St Mary’s Church stands in the village of Eastham on the Wirral peninsula, beside the Mersey estuary. A place of worship has existed here since before the Domesday Book recorded a priest at Eastham. The present building mixes centuries of stonework: 12th-century masonry in the north wall, a 13th-century nave, a 14th-century tower rebuilt in 1752, and 15th-century aisles. The south porch belongs to the 16th century, while the chancel was restored in the 1860s by John Douglas of Chester. David Walker led a major restoration between 1876 and 1880, leaving layers of history visible in every surface. The church is worth visiting for its Grade II listing and the survival of so many periods in one place. The tower carries an unusual broach spire with gable pinnacles and three tiers of lucarnes. Inside, a 12th-century Norman font stands in the baptistry at the tower’s base. A six-metre oak parish chest from the late 16th century fills part of the south aisle, and the Stanley chapel holds alabaster and sandstone tombs for members of the Stanley family. The nave roof bears three carved heraldic panels of the Poole family worked into the organ case. Visitors find a calm churchyard with a sundial dated 1798 and an ancient yew said to date from 1152. Fourteen First World War graves and one Merchant Navy officer’s Second World War grave lie among the headstones. Inside, stained glass by E. Frampton and Kempe fills the windows, and a ring of six bells cast in 1922 hangs ready to ring. The registers begin in 1598, offering a quiet record of centuries of parish life.