The Norman Chapel, Prestbury

The chapel was built by the Normans in the 12th century to replace a timber-framed Saxon church. Early in the 13th century it began to fall into disrepair. It was rebuilt in 1747 and restored in 1953.

Drawing by Randle Holmes showing the chapel as a roofless ruin, 1592

Drawing from JP. Earwaker’s East Cheshire, 1877

Norman Chapel, 2005

The figures on the tympanum can be interpreted to mean:

“In the name of the Blessed Trinity, this church dedicated to St Peter was built by the abbot and monks of St Werburgh in the reign of Richard I, when Ranulf was Earl of Chester.”

The windows date from 1977.

Roundel above the altar depicting St Ann instructing the infant Mary

Windows on either side of the chapel illustrate the thought-provoking poem: When as a Child I laughed and wept, time crept. When as a youth I dreamed and talked, time walked. When I became a full grown man, time ran. And later as I older grew, time flew. Soon I shall find while traveling on, time gone. Will Christ have saved my soul by then? Amen.

The Norman Chapel is a grade II listed building. For architectural descriptions see English Heritage and the Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture.