Welcome to our Parish Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Ellesmere. God has been worshipped on this site for well over a thousand years. If you go to the south side of the church and then look towards the Mere you will see why, with all its beauty, this spot was chosen.

We were here before the Normans: we were here at the time of St Chad (d.672). The oldest parts of the church as you see it today were built in the Middle Ages by the Knights of S John, 13th -15th c.

A Welsh prince, an English king's daughter, crusaders, people who lived in a castle nearby and made advantageous marriages - all played their part in building our lovely church with its fine tower, its Queen of Heaven, its beautiful sedilia, its great oak chest.

S Anne’s became a Chantry Chapel, with its wonderfully carved roof. Here by the altar lie Queen Elizabeth I's Cupbearer, Sir Francis Kynaston and his wife Margaret. At the west end is the Ellesmere Charter which the Queen gave to his son.

The chancel is paved with Minton tiles, the sanctuary with Belgian marble, the gift of Lord Brownlow. The nave is by Gilbert Scott (with one Norman pillar left). We have a good organ and up-to-date facilities.