Church of St Mary the Virgin, Wistaston 2.6

The Church of St Mary the Virgin is in the village of Wistaston, Cheshire, England. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Macclesfield and the deanery of Nantwich.HistoryIt is believed that there has been a church or chapel on or near the present site for nearly 700 years. The first record of a rector goes back to 1379. The first church on the site would have been a wooden building. The existing records start in 1572. In 1827 the decision was taken that "due to decay it was unsuitable for public worship". The present church was built in 1827–28 to a design by George Latham. The chancel was lengthened, and a transept was added in 1884. Further alterations were made in 1905.ArchitectureExteriorThe church is built in brick with a slate roof. Its plan consists of a west tower, a nave and a chancel. The architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner considered that the church is "entirely Georgian" in style and that this style was maintained in the 1884 additions.