Probably meant for Sir George Booth, of Bollin, because at one period, the Booths resided at Bollin Hall, near Wilmslow, which was, after many mutations and alterations, reduced to the rank of a farmhouse, and was at last pulled down, when the railway was made.
The chapel or oratory, on the north side of the chancel and altar, is called the Pownall Chapel, and in its east window are four scrolls, in stained glass, each containing the words, “Ego autem in Dño gaudebo.” [255b] On the north side of the chapel, is a piscina [255a] in the wall; and on the south side, on the floor, close to the projecting wing-wall, separating it from the altar, is a grave-stone, evidently of great antiquity, with a singularly shaped cross carved upon it, the ends of the arms of which are sloped off, instead of being carved square; and the inscription is almost illegible, except that on each side of the cross, there are yet to be seen the initials T H S, in the old characters.
At the east end of the chancel, is a large and handsome altar window, of the Perpendicular Gothic style; and on the outside, immediately above it, is a carved shield of arms, containing “the Griffin segreant,” the armorial bearing of the Traffords. In the projecting wall, on the north side of the altar, is a small square open recess, apparently intended, in former ages, for an almbury, or aumbery, in which the sacred vessels, and articles used in the celebration of the mass, were usually kept. The roof of the church is very handsome, of oak, the cross beams being elaborately carved, and in various places in the roof, the initial letters H. T. appear in the ancient character, doubtless intended for Henry Trafford, the last rector of Wilmslow, before the overthrow of the Papal supremacy, and the first of that rectory of the Reformed religion, if the Reformation can strictly be said to have been established, during the lifetime of the capricious monarch, Henry VIII. I shall have occasion to say more of this ecclesiastic hereafter. There are also one or two shields of arms painted on the beams, containing “the Griffin segreant, gules;” they furnish additional proof, that a large portion of the church, and probably the roof, were rebuilt or renovated, just before the Reformation. Amongst other ornaments on the roof, an etoile, or star, appears painted in several places where the beams intersect each other. [256]
The font is massive, quite devoid of ornament, and bears the appearance of great antiquity.
At the west end of the church is an arch, which is said to have formerly opened into the belfry of the tower; it is an exact segment of a circle; but as it has not the slightest appearance of the zig-zag, or dog’s-tooth, or any other of the ornaments so generally met with, on Norman arches, I am of opinion that it is of a comparatively modern date, and was probably erected when a portion of the church and its tower were rebuilt or altered, not long before the Reformation. This idea receives some degree of countenance from the circumstance, that on the south-west corner of the outside of the tower, is a niche with its carved canopy, which formerly contained an image, said to have been that of the Virgin Mary.
The church porch, which fronts the south, has been handsome, and much ornamented, but is now considerably defaced, and over the porch entrance is a handsomely carved niche with its canopy, [257a] which is said to have contained an image of Saint Bartholomew, the tutelary saint of the church; but at present, in lieu of the old saint, the niche is disfigured by an unsightly slab, or piece of stone, of a different colour to the rest of the stonework near it, let into the niche with an inscription, communicating the important fact, that certain good men were churchwardens some thirty or forty years ago. [257b] The fact of the existence on the walls of an old church, of niches, which contain, or formerly contained, images, is a sufficient proof, that they must have been erected, at least before the Reformation.
On the south side of the nave of the church is a chapel, projecting into the churchyard, called the Hawthorn Chapel, which, in the last century but one, belonged to a junior branch of the Leighs, of Hawthorn Hall, near Wilmslow. The arms of Leigh, “argent, a lion rampant, gardant, gules,” with a crescent for difference, and also the crest of the family, appear painted over an arch, which connects it with the church, and also in stained glass in the window of the chapel.
This chapel appears, from the style of its window, to have been rebuilt or altered, since the general prevalence of the Gothic style, but as some remains of inscriptions, in ancient characters, have been discovered on its walls, the inference is, that it is an old chapel rebuilt or much altered.
Hawthorn Hall, and the estate belonging to it, afterwards came from the Leighs to the family of Page, who were the proprietors of it, and resided there, during a considerable part of the eighteenth century, and at last sold it to a person named Bower, and it is now used as a school. It is about half a mile from Wilmslow, and is an antique brick mansion, with large gables, and a small cupola, and much resembles the style of mansions which were in fashion during the reign of William III., said to have been adopted from the Dutch. The same armorial bearings, before mentioned, of the Leighs, with the crescent for difference, appears over the principal entrances, on the north and south fronts of the mansion; and on the lead spouts are the initials of one of the Leighs, J L, and the date, 1698; which probably may also give us a hint of the date of the rebuilding of the chapel.
In my observations on Wilmslow Church, I ought not to omit mentioning, that in the churchyard, at the east end, is an ancient grave-stone, with the date 1596, and on the north side of the church is another, of the same date, inscribed with the names, “Phe. Dale.” [258]