St Helen Witton Church, Northwich

The church was originally a chapel of ease to St Mary and All Saints, Great Budworth and the area was then known as Witton. The present building dates from the 14th century, with additions in the 15th, 16th and 19th centuries. A tradition that Witton had a chapel as early as the 13th century cannot be verified, but by the mid-14th century a church (technically a chapel of ease) stood on the present site. It was roughly the same length as the current building, had transepts but no aisles, side chapels or clerestory, and was covered by a steeply pitched roof rising from about the height of the present arcade. There would have been a chancel arch with a great beam or loft across it bearing a…

Over the nave and chancel is a continuous camber-beam and panel oak ceiling with diagonal cross-braces, large carved bosses at the junctions of the main beams and smaller ones at the junctions of the secondary beams. The clock is a double three legged gravity feed made by engineers W. H. Bailey of Salford. Taking the place of a still earlier clock mentioned in the churchwardens' accounts it was installed in 1888 and refurbished in 1911. There is a ring of eight bells cast by John Taylor and Company of Loughborough in 1911. The earliest mention of bells in the churchwardens' accounts is in 1692. Until 1877 there were six bells, two more being cast by Taylor's and added that year. All eight…