All Saints Chapel, Somerford

All Saints Chapel stands in a quiet spot near Brereton Heath, between Congleton and Holmes Chapel in Cheshire. Built in 1725 as a private chapel for Somerford Hall, it is now a chapel of ease for the parish. The building is made of chequer brick with chamfered quoins at each corner. A clock face sits above the west door, while the east end has a three-light window and an oval oeil de boeuf window. The chapel is Grade II* listed, marking its national importance. Inside, the lower walls are panelled with a 19th-century frieze and cornice above. A gallery at the west end is held up by Corinthian columns, and an enclosed pew sits beside it. The east end features a reredos with painted panels, including an extract from St Matthew’s Gospel and the Creed. A 20th-century embroidered panel covers the central section, and a memorial window remembers three Shakerley family members lost in the First World War. Outside, the churchyard contains the grave of Peter Shakerley, who built the chapel and died in 1726. The east window was replaced in 1919 as a war memorial. The chapel’s simple elegance and historical details make it a quiet place to reflect on the past.