St Matthew's, Stretton
In 1859, Richard Greenall, Archdeacon of Chester, previously vicar of Stretton, commissioned Sir George Gilbert Scott build a chancel as an addition to an earlier Commissioners Church of 1826-7, at a cost of £1,700. The builder was R Fairhurst of Whitley and the stonemason Holland of Northwich. It has a cradle roof with carved bosses. At each side are oak stalls for the choir. Scott also designed an oak pulpit at the same time. Greenall died suddenly in 1867, so after his death, in 1870, the church was rebuilt as a memorial to him, again using Scott. It was rebuilt in red sandstone and has a wooden roof tiled with Westmorland slate in Early English style.
Scott was able to marry together his new building with his earlier chancel. The west tower was also rebuilt and there are plain blocks which were not carved. Goodhart Rendle described it as ‘solid, decent, well designed and unassuming’.
St Matthew’s Church, Stretton
