St Mary’s Church Whitegate
© 2010 St Mary’s Church Whitegate Cheshire
Our Church’s History
The parish church of St Mary’s Whitegate goes back to the formation of Vale Royal Abbey in Vale Royal. The site for Vale Royal Abbey had been sponsored before Edward I departed on crusade. Darnhall had proved unsuitable and Edward after the project began to languish, clearly felt that it ought to be revived. In the middle of the first fortnight of August, he abandoned his logistical concerns and travelled to the lordship of Cheshire. On the 8th August 1277 the court had stopped near Northwich and it was probably on the following day, a Sunday that they came to the empty place on the banks of the River Weaver where the King’s new Abbey was to be founded. There is some debate about this date but chroniclers of the period state that it cannot be earlier in the month because of the date he arrived at Northwich, nor later as by then it was recorded that Edward I was back on the Wirral.
The occasion for the laying of the foundation stones was both grand and solemn, surrounded by an assembly of some of his most important subjects. Edward proceeded to lay the first stone at the place where the high altar was to be built of this monastic house dedicated in honour of our Lord Jesus Christ and the glorious Virgin Mary, and of the holy confessors and bishops Nicholas and Nicasius. Queen Eleanor laid two more, the first for herself and the third stone for Alfonso their son. Other nobleman, the earls of Warwick, Gloucester, Surrey and Cornwall then laid further stones. Robert de Burnell, as Bishop of Bath and Wells and as Chancellor to the king, celebrated mass and emphasised that this act was to bring blessing on them.
The plan for the Abbey was a bold statement and this new Abbey of Edward I was to be the largest monastic church built by the Cistercian order in England at 421 feet long. It was bigger than the Cistercian abbey at Fountains in Yorkshire, and longer than Westminster Abbey. It was situated in a valley which Edward I named ‘Vallis Regalis’ (Vale Royal), that ‘no monastery should be more royal in liberties, wealth and honour.’ The monks moved to the Abbey in 1330 and it was completed by 1359.
Vale Royal Abbey was founded from the line of Cistercian Abbeys to come from Morimond in France and the mother abbey was Dore Abbey in the golden valley of Herefordshire. The parish church it is said was built for the monks and village folk during the construction of Vale Royal Abbey at the
Vale Royal Abbey was founded from the line of Cistercian Abbeys to come from Morimond in France and the mother abbey was Dore Abbey in the golden valley of Herefordshire. The parish church it is said was built for the monks and village folk during the construction of Vale Royal Abbey at the
entrance to the white gates. At the dissolution of the monastery in September 1538 this became the parish church of St Mary the Virgin. Following the Dissolution the site was acquired by the royal commissioner, Thomas Holcroft, who ‘plucked down’ the great church. Afterwards he built a house which incorporated some of the monastic buildings. Evidence suggests that the plan focused around the conversion of the south and west ranges. Holcroft’s house, although much altered since the sixteenth century, can still be seen at Vale Royal today.
The church of St Mary’s contains eight octagonal oak columns, which it is believed go back to this early period. In 1728 the church was redesigned into a Georgian style with a tower. In 1874 it was virtually rebuilt by the 2nd Baron Delamere to the design of John Douglas one of Cheshire’s most famous architects with a spire.
Within the churchyard lies the grave of Sir David Muirhead Bone who was appointed as Great Britain’s war artist in 1916. He was knighted in 1937 and was also a World War II artist. He has a memorial site in St Paul’s Cathedral, London.
Within the churchyard lies the grave of Sir David Muirhead Bone who was appointed as Great Britain’s war artist in 1916. He was knighted in 1937 and was also a World War II artist. He has a memorial site in St Paul’s Cathedral, London.
Cistercians' coat of arms.
Edward I depicted in Cassell's History of England
The lych gate at
St Mary’s, Whitegate
St Mary’s, Whitegate
Part of the churchyard
of St Mary’s
of St Mary’s
