All Saints
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Harthill
All Saints |
| Described by Ormerod the Cheshire Antiquarian as "eminently picturesque and beautiful" set as it is amongst the highest hills of the Sandstone trail. It is now however sadly desolate and no longer used for regular worship. |
How to Find
It From the village of Tattenhall follow the narrow country road to Bickerton and let it gently take you towards the Sandstone Hills. Alternatively just follow the signs to Harthill and Tattenhall from the A534 on the stretch running between Broxton roundabout and A49. Map Ref 501553 |
| Ormerod further describes the area "the church aand
most of the houses are built around a village green in the centre
of which there is an aged oak in an advanced state of decay. The
ground on which the church stands is over 400 feet above sea level
and the panorama over the rapidly falling gradient extends from the
neighbourhood of Farndon past Eaton to the waters of the
Dee. The picture is looking past the south east corner of the church with the ridge, which is part of Rawhead, in view. In the distance is the outcrop which houses Beeston Castle. The oak is perhaps a replacement of the original. |
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 The church from the north side |
| The left picture is of the vault of the Barbour family of
Bolesworth Castle in the churchyard. The advowson of the church was bought by the family in 1873 when they purchased the estate. The vault was first mentioned in 1830 when the previous owners of the estate, the Walmsley family were given permission to build, they had to pay £5 to the vicar each time it was opened to deposit a body. |
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| The Hermit of
Harthill The legend of John Harris, the English Hermit, is well known, if not well remembered, in Cheshire and North Wales. John Harris, the English Hermit, was discovered at the ripe age of 99 years old. Four young men gathering firewood for a Guy Fawkes Night bonfire spotted him on 5th November 1809. So shocking was the sight of Harris, that all four men ran back to nearby Harthill claiming that they had encountered a “wild hairy man....the frightfulest figure they had ever seen', going into the Rock's mouth. Disbelief was put to rest when gentlemen from Harthill, lanterns in hand, returned to Allenscomb's Cave and found Harris sitting around a fire made of coakes. ” Harris told them of how he had begun his cave life when his parents refused him permission to marry his sweetheart, Ann Egerton, from the parish of Handley. In return he vowed never to marry so long as he lived and to have as little conversation with mankind as possible. (Above from an anoymous source in 1809) |