Hanmer Church History

St. Chad is reputed to have baptised converts in nearby Lyn Bedydd in AD 670. Early churches were replaced in the twelfth century by a stone church built by the monks of Haughmond Abbey .

The twelfth century church was the setting in 1383 for the marriage of Margaret Hanmer to Owain Glyndwr, the man many see as the greatest Welshman of all time. That church was destroyed by fire in 1463 during the Wars of the Roses. It was rebuilt at the expense of Margaret Beaufort, wife of Lord Thomas Stanley and mother of Henry Tudor (Henry VII). The Tudor Rose motif, seen throughout the church, refers back to that time. 

During the Civil War Roundhead troops from Nantwich stabled their horses in St. Chad’s. By order of Oliver Cromwell the ancient Churchyard Cross was thrown down and was only set up again at the southeast corner of the church in 1739. On the 20th June 1643 a large body of these Parliamentarian horse and dragoons was ambushed near Hanmer mere by Welsh Royalists and ‘cut to pieces’. 

The ‘Great Fire’ of 3rd February 1889 destroyed the magnificent interior woodwork, windows and roof. The new box ceiling has carvings designed and made by village youths in woodwork classes. There are also beautifully carved screens and fitments from that time and the stained glass includes three Kempe windows.

The church has been well maintained into the new millennium with repairs to roof, tower, windows, and floors. It remains a deeply spiritual place of worship.

Click History above for more topics

Updated 9th November 2011 by Bill Barlow

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