St Matthew's Church, Stretton

From the reign of Henry II, the village of Stretton was owned by the Starkey family and it is likely that a chapel was built for the family during the 13th or 14th century. In a will dated 1527 the chapel is referred to as the Oratory of St Saviour. In Leycester's history of Cheshire it is stated that in 1666 the "ancient chapel of Stretton" was "ruinous and in decay". In 1826–27 a Commissioners' Church was built as a chapel of ease to Great Budworth. It was designed by Philip Hardwick and accommodated 250 people. In 1859 Richard Greenall, vicar and Archdeacon of Chester, commissioned George Gilbert Scott to build a chancel, which he did. Richard Greenall died suddenly in 1867, and…

The west door screen, dated 1982, is made of oak and is by Hayes and Finch of Liverpool. The roof of the nave is of red deal and the pews are oak. The font, which dates from 1867, is in stone with a carved oak canopy. The pulpit was designed by Scott and installed in 1859. The tiles in the sanctuary are thought to be Minton encaustic tiles; the tiles elsewhere in the church are black and red. The organ was built by Henry Willis and installed in 1876. Additional stops were added to the organ in the early 1920s. The frontal of the altar and the reredos were made of carved oak by E. H. Sankey in 1957. The east window was designed and made by Trena Cox and dedicated in 1939. Much of the rest of…