St Mary on the Hill, Chester

St Mary on the Hill
St Mary's Hill
Chester

The church of St Mary on the Hill, lays a few yards North of the castle in Chester, at the junction of St Mary's Hill and Castle Street. It can be found by walking North towards the city centre, cutting across the car park at the front of the castle.

This secluded church is a Grade I listed building, built during the latter part of the 14th and the early part of the 15th century, and is now home to the St Mary's Centre. It is no longer used for services. St Marys was one of nine original Medieval churches in Chester, and was one of the city's richest managing to maintain a certain independence from St Werbergh (today's cathedral)

The above photo shows the porch on the North side of the church.

The church was restored between 1861 and 1862 by James Harrison, and again, between 1890 and 1892 by J.P.Seddon. In the 1970's, it was converted into an educational centre, retaining its consecrated status. The link at the end of this post shows how richly decorated the interior is.

The photo above shows the West tower standing above the remnants of the castle's Eastern most ditch.

The church's graveyard was used to bury executed prisoners from the castle. However, none of the grave stones now mark the deceased's last resting place. All the stones have been taken down, broken up and used to make a wall round the path surrounding the church yard. Check the link for some great photos and additional information about this church.