St Mary's Church, Rostherne

St Mary's Church, Rostherne
St Mary's Church, Rostherne
St Mary's Church, Rostherne Location in Cheshire
Coordinates: 53°20′58″N 2°23′17″W / 53.3495°N 2.3880°W / 53.3495; -2.3880
OS grid reference	SJ 743 837
Location	Rostherne, Cheshire
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Website	St Mary, Rostherne
Architecture
Status	Parish church
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade I
Designated	5 March 1959
Architect(s)	John Rowson Sir Arthur Blomfield
Architectural type	Church
Style	Gothic, Neoclassical
Completed	1888
Specifications
Materials	Sandstone Slate and lead roof
Administration
Parish	Rostherne with Bollington
Deanery	Knutsford
Archdeaconry	Macclesfield
Diocese	Chester
Province	York
Clergy
Vicar(s)	Revd Philip John Robinson

St Mary's Church lies between the village of Rostherne and Rostherne Mere in Cheshire, England. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Macclesfield and the deanery of Knutsford. Its benefice is united with that of Holy Trinity, Bollington.

Little is known about the early history of the church. There is no reference to a church at Rostherne in the Domesday Book but a deed dated 1188 states that a church had been on the site. A steeple was built in 1533 but it collapsed in November 1741 after some years' deterioration and neglect. The present tower was erected and the body of the church which had been damaged by the fall was rebuilt between 1742 and 1744, the architect being John Rowson. The chancel and north vestry date from 1888 and are by Sir Arthur Blomfield. The south porch dates from around 1886.

The tower and church are built in sandstone with a slate and lead roof. The tower is to the west, there is a nave of four bays with side aisles, a chancel of four bays with side chapels, and a vestry. The tower is in three diminishing stages with a clock face on the south side. The bell openings are Venetian in type. The parapet curves upwards at the corners with vases on the corners and in the middle of the sides. Unusually the roof of the nave has dormer windows. The church is Perpendicular in style, other than the north doorway and the west window in the vestry which have Decorated features.