Shotwick
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St
Michael
Shotwick |
| "Many of the old churches of Cheshire are to be found
in secluded and romantic situations but few can claim of be of
greater interest than St. Michael of Shotwick. It once stood on
banks which were washed by the waters of the Dee." Richards Old Cheshire Churches 1947 Land has now been reclaimed and the Dee is two miles away and modern roads isolate the church even more. |
How to find The A 550(T), part of a triangle of roads that spew out traffic from North Wales, the Wirral and the Cheshire M56, roars past the entrance to the little winding lane that takes you down to a huddle of old houses and the church. The lane finishes in tranquility here. Map Ref. 337717 |
 The church from the south east. |
 The church porch in which can be seen grooves said to have been made by archers sharpening their arrows in days past. |
 Looking past the church over the reclaimed land towards the industrial estate at Shotton. |
| History Shotwick was at one time a community at a ford. It was an important ford on the River Dee, for both kings and traders, for it was crossed the estuary towards Wales at its lowest crossing point. In 1245 King Henry 11 led an army across and Edward the First in his campaigns to subdue the Welsh crossed here. It was also an important staging post in the pack horse salt trade. At the end of the 15th century the port of Chester was silting up and Shotwick took its place. For over 100 years Shotwick was the major port on the Dee. The church has an early Norman doorway but the rest was rebuilt in the 14th century. The tower is dated about 1500. |
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 The interior of the church showing the box pews and the unique triple decker pulpit. The 17th century altar rails can also be seen. Shotwick has a feeling of age, of mellowness, of antiquity that cannot help but make any visitor feel swallowed up in its atmosphere. |
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T. Alfred Coward in his book Picturesque Cheshire
published in 1903 has this illustration plus he writes; "...in a narrow lane between luxuriant hedges that drop down towards those flat lands that border the Dee. Shotwick in fact stands on the edge of the ancient tide-mark. There are men living who can remember shooting bernacle geese from behind the shelter of the churchyard wall." |
| Shotwich church has it's own web site which gives a comprehensive history of the church, vicar and list of services etc. St.Michael's Shotwick |