Church Of St Matthew

The Church of St Matthew is a parish church largely dating from 1882-3, designed by Ewan Christian, but incorporating some fabric from the early 13th century. The church is constructed of red brick with some early 13th century coursed and squared sandstone blocks, and has a plain tile roof with crested ridge tiles.

The west tower is from the 13th century, with a 19th-century restoration. It is one stage high, with a hipped roof surmounted by a timber-framed bell turret with a pyramidal roof. lancet windows are present on the north and south sides of the tower, and a 19th-century east window is in a 15th-century style, featuring three cinquefoil arched lights with pierced spandrels beneath a square head. The nave has Decorated style windows featuring two trefoil arched lights with a quatrefoil above, beneath a segmental pointed arch. The north-west window has three cinquefoil arched lights. A pointed south doorway has a double ogee moulded surround and hood mould, accompanied by a gabled timber-framed porch with shaped barge boards and traceried open panels. The chancel has a stone plinth, likely comprised of reused 13th-century stonework; it has windows similar to those of the nave, and a pointed east window of three lights with reticulated tracery and a hood mould culminating in carved heads.

The vestry has a Caernarvon arch doorway on the north side, and a lateral stack to the west. An east window is similar to the nave and chancel windows, whilst the west window is single-light with a trefoil arched light under a segmental pointed head.

Internally, a pointed, double-chamfered tower arch is visible. Two massive medieval timber-framed trusses support the west turret, each featuring a pair of quasi-aisle posts, a tie beam, and arch braces; the inner face of each post has a chamfered fillet. There is a segmental arch on the north side of the chancel, and a pointed vestry door immediately east of it. A 19th-century circular stone font features a pedestal with four nook shafts, moulded bases and capitals. Monuments include a tablet to Anne Lady Egerton (died 1726), with an open base, pediment, foliated scrolls, and a cherub’s head. A Webb family tablet, dating from around 1840, has an egg and dart frieze. A tablet to William Darlaston Webb (died 1863) features an interlaced pattern frieze surmounted by a heraldic frieze flanked by scrolls. Good stained glass is present in the 1894 east window, depicting the Ascension, and a photograph taken before the 1883 restoration is displayed at the west end of the nave.