St Mary's Church, Nantwich

St Mary's Church, Nantwich
St Mary's Church, Nantwich
St Mary's Church, Nantwich Location in Cheshire
53°04′02″N 2°31′14″W / 53.0671°N 2.5206°W / 53.0671; -2.5206
OS grid reference	SJ 651 523
Location	Nantwich, Cheshire
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Website	St Mary's, Nantwich
History
Status	Parish church
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade I
Designated	19 April 1948
Architect(s)	George Gilbert Scott (restoration)
Architectural type	Church
Style	Gothic
Specifications
Height	101 feet (31 m)
Materials	Red sandstone
Administration
Province	York
Diocese	Chester
Archdeaconry	Macclesfield
Deanery	Nantwich
Parish	Nantwich
Clergy
Rector	Rev Dr Mark Hart
Honorary priest(s)	Canon David Taylor, Rev David Marsh, Rev Gordon Roxby
Curate(s)	Rev Paul Wheeler
Laity
Director of music	Alison Phillips
Organist(s)	Simon Russell
Churchwarden(s)	Chris Harris, Pat Stalker
Flower guild	Glenys Ellis
Music group(s)	Jonathan Griffiths
Parish administrator	Gail Johnson

St Mary's Church is an Anglican parish church in Nantwich, Cheshire, England.^[1] The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building.^[2] It has been called the "Cathedral of South Cheshire" and it is considered by some to be one of the finest medieval churches, not only in Cheshire, but in the whole of England.^[3] The architectural writer Raymond Richards described it as "one of the great architectural treasures of Cheshire",^[4] and Alec Clifton-Taylor included it in his list of "outstanding" English parish churches.^[5]

The building dates from the 14th century, although a number of changes have since been made, particularly a substantial 19th-century restoration by Sir George Gilbert Scott. The church and its octagonal tower are built in red sandstone. Features of the church's interior include the lierne-vaulted ceiling of the choir, the carved stone canopies of the sedilia in the chancel, and the intricately carved wooden canopies over the choirstalls together with the 20 misericords at the back of the stalls. The church is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Macclesfield and the deanery of Nantwich.^[6]