Shocklach

St Edith's Church, Shocklach

St. Edith's is a small Norman church, and is one of the oldest ecclesiastical buildings in the county of Cheshire.

The red sandstone church was probably built in around 1150 by Thomas de Shocklach. As the church is dedicated to an Anglo-Saxon saint, it is thought likely that an earlier church may have occupied the site.

The chancel and chancel arch date from the early fourteenth century. In the seventeenth century the west wall of the nave was restored and altered to provide a small baptistry between two buttresses. The ceiling was added in 1813 and the belfry was built in 1815. Victorian restoration was carried out in 1878 when a new wooden floor was inserted.

The chancel has an arch-braced wooden roof, the chancel arch is medieval. The church pews dates back to 1697 A pane of glass, which once formed part of the east window is preserved in a frame to the left of the organ. On it is scratched

"I, Robert Aldersey, was here on 1st day of October 1756 along with John Massie and Mr Derbyshire. The roads were so bad that we were in danger of our lives".

Figure on horse back on the north wall

A weathered carved stone at the west end of the north wall, shows the figure of a man on horseback. The carving has been the subject of much speculation. The parish leaflet states it "seems to show a military figure on horseback", although it has been suggested that it shows the Flight into Egypt. The grading citation identifies it as a "mounted knight" and dates it possibly to the seventeenth century.A very different but possible explanation has been given by Dan Robinson, curator of the Grosvenor Museum, Chester. He notes that the carving depicts a single rider on a single horse, but that the horse appears to have more than four legs, possibly depicting Sleipnir, the eight-legged mount of Odin. If so, the carving would be of Viking origin.

A medieval cross on three steps stands in the churchyard.