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Churches of the British Isles

Gallery: Churches of Cheshire

by Peter Kessler, 1 November 2020

Cheshire West & Chester Part 1: Churches of Chester to Frodsham

Chester Cathedral, Chester, Cheshire

Chester Cathedral in the centre of Chester was founded as a Benedictine abbey in 1092. The original church was built in the Romanesque or Norman style, parts of which survive today. It was rebuilt from 1250 in the Gothic style, taking 275 years and resulting in the incredible structure seen today. The site has the most complete set of monastic buildings in the country, along with a Georgian square and streets, and the remains of Roman barracks on the Dean's field.

Church of St James the Great, Ince, Cheshire

The Church of St James the Great, Ince, is on the eastern side of Pool Lane, about seventy metres south-west of the Kinsey's Lane turning. A Norman chapel once stood on this site, while the earliest parts of the present building were erected in the 1300s. Only the tower and part of the Decorated-style chancel remain from this period, with the Perpendicular tower, by Simon Ripley, dating to about 1485-1493. The nave, aisle, and porch were all rebuilt in 1854.

Bourne Primitive Methodist Chapel, Frodsham, Cheshire

Bourne Primitive Methodist Chapel, Frodsham, is on the southern side of Main Street, about eighty metres west of the Millbank Court turning. Primitive Methodists moved here from their first local chapel at Frodsham Bridge in 1876-1877. Following the Methodist union of 1932 it became Bourne Methodist Church. With post-war numbers falling, it closed in 1987 and was later converted into a set of private apartments. Worship continued at Trinity (see links).

St Dunstan's Church / Main Street Community Church, Frodsham, Cheshire

St Dunstan's Church, Frodsham, was built in 1874 as a mission church using a Victorian 'flat-pack' tin tabernacle. It is located at the north-west corner of the junction between Main Street and Chapelfields, and is shown on the combined OS 25-inch map of 1892-1914 in that form. Post-war its use by the church came to an end but, with a move of three metres in 1995 (presumably to allow more pedestrian space), it found a second life as Main Street Community Church.

Wesleyan Association Tabernacle Chapel / Frodsham United Methodist Free Chapel, Cheshire

Frodsham's Wesleyan Association Tabernacle Chapel stands on the north side of the High Street, flanked west and east by Alexandra Mews and Plumpstons Lane. It was built in 1837 to accommodate 350 worshippers. In 1857 a merger with the Wesleyan Reformers changed it to Frodsham United Methodist Free Chapel. Another union in 1907 removed 'Free', but the 1932 Methodist union signalled its closure (in 1937), and a new role as a county library and now flats.

St Luke's Roman Catholic Church, Frodsham, Cheshire

St Luke's Roman Catholic Church, Frodsham, At the north-west corner of the junction between the High Street and Rock Court. An earlier Roman Catholic chapel in the town existed on Ship Street (virtually behind the present site), having been opened in 1949. This was replaced by the present building in 1981, and was sold to become the Royal Mail depot it remains today, at the south-west corner of the junction with St Luke's Way.

Five photos on this page kindly contributed by Douglas Law, and one from the Clive Dowd collection, all via the 'History Files: Churches of the British Isles' Flickr group. Additional information by Douglas Law.

 

 

     
Images and text copyright © all contributors mentioned on this page. An original feature for the History Files.