Discover 15 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Nantwich (United Kingdom). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Nantwich Museum, Hack Green Secret Nuclear Bunker, and St Mary's Church. Also, be sure to include St Mary's Church in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Nantwich (England).
Table of Contents
Nantwich Museum
Museum in Nantwich, England. Nantwich Museum is a local museum in the town of Nantwich, Cheshire, northwest England, founded in 1980. The museum is housed in the former public library, dating from 1888. Collections focus on Cheshire's role in the English Civil War, and the area's history of salt production and cheese-making, as well as the manufacture of shoes, clothing and clocks.[1]
Address: Pillory St., CW5 5BQ Nantwich
Hack Green Secret Nuclear Bunker
Museum in England. The Hack Green Secret Nuclear Bunker is a former government-owned nuclear bunker located at Hack Green, Cheshire, England.[2]
Address: French Lane, CW5 8AL Nantwich
St Mary's Church
Church in Acton, England. St Mary's Church is an active Anglican parish church located in Monk's Lane, Acton, a village to the west of Nantwich, Cheshire, England. Since 1967 it has been designated a Grade I listed building. A church has been present on this site since before the time of the Domesday Survey. The tower is the oldest in Cheshire, although it had to be largely rebuilt after it fell in 1757. One unusual feature of the interior of the church is that the old stone seating around its sides has been retained. In the south aisle are some ancient carved stones dating back to the Norman era. The architectural historian Alec Clifton-Taylor includes the church in his list of 'best' English parish churches. In the churchyard is a tall 17th-century sundial. The church is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Macclesfield and the deanery of Nantwich. Its benefice is united with those of St David, Wettenhall, St Oswald, Worleston, and St Bartholomew, Church Minshull.[3]
St Mary's Church
Church in Nantwich, England. St Mary's Church is an Anglican parish church in Nantwich, Cheshire, England. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building. It has been called the "Cathedral of South Cheshire" and it is considered by some to be one of the finest medieval churches, not only in Cheshire, but in the whole of England. The architectural writer Raymond Richards described it as "one of the great architectural treasures of Cheshire", and Alec Clifton-Taylor included it in his list of "outstanding" English parish churches.
The building dates from the 14th century, although a number of changes have since been made, particularly a substantial 19th-century restoration by Sir George Gilbert Scott. The church and its octagonal tower are built in red sandstone. Features of the church's interior include the lierne-vaulted ceiling of the choir, the carved stone canopies of the sedilia in the chancel, and the intricately carved wooden canopies over the choirstalls together with the 20 misericords at the back of the stalls. The church is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Macclesfield and the deanery of Nantwich.[4]
Address: The Rectory, CW5 5RQ Nantwich
Nantwich Castle
Nantwich Castle was a Norman castle in Nantwich, Cheshire, England, built before 1180 to guard a ford across the River Weaver. The castle is first documented in 1288. It was last recorded in 1462, and was in ruins by 1485. No trace now remains above ground; excavations in 1978 near the Crown Inn uncovered terracing and two ditches, one or both of which possibly formed the castle's bailey.[5]
Address: Castle St, CW5 5BA Nantwich
Nantwich Walled Garden
Museum in Nantwich, England. Nantwich Walled Garden is a disused walled garden in the town of Nantwich, Cheshire, UK. It occupies approximately half an acre north of 82 to 96 Welsh Row.[6]
Nantwich Bridge
Bridge. Nantwich Bridge is a stone bridge carrying Welsh Row over the River Weaver in the town of Nantwich, Cheshire, England. The existing bridge replaces a 17th-century stone bridge; it dates from 1803 and is listed at grade II. An earlier timber bridge known as the Wich Bridge is first mentioned at the end of the 14th century; it is described as having a chapel and shops on it.
Nantwich lay on the main London–Chester road, an important transport route, and the bridge was heavily used for trade and military purposes from the medieval era until the 19th century.[7]
Nantwich Methodist Church
Church in Nantwich, England. The Wesleyan Methodist Church, also known as the Wesleyan Chapel, is a former Wesleyan Methodist church on Hospital Street, Nantwich, Cheshire, England. Built in 1808, a new façade was added in 1876. The church then seated over a thousand, and was the largest Nonconformist place of worship in the town in the 1880s. It is listed at grade II. The church closed in 2009, after the congregation moved to the former Methodist schoolrooms opposite.[8]
1–3 Churchyard Side
1–3 Churchyard Side is a grade-II-listed Victorian Gothic building in Nantwich, Cheshire, England, located on the corner of Churchyard Side and Pepper Street, opposite St Mary's Church. Built in 1864–66 to a design by Alfred Waterhouse as the Nantwich branch of the Manchester and Liverpool District Bank, it is among the most notable examples of Victorian corporate architecture in the town. The building remained a branch of the District Bank until the late 20th century, and is still in use as a bank.[9]
Nantwich Aqueduct
Bridge in Nantwich, England. Nantwich Aqueduct is a navigable aqueduct in Acton in Cheshire, England, which carries the Shropshire Union Canal over the Chester to Nantwich road. Designed by Thomas Telford, it dates from around 1826 and is listed at grade II*.[10]
39 Welsh Row
39 Welsh Row is a Victorian former savings bank, in Jacobean Revival style, in Nantwich, Cheshire, England. It stands on the south side of Welsh Row at the junction with St Anne's Lane. Dating from 1846, it is listed at grade II. Nikolaus Pevsner describes number 39 as "the first noteworthy building" on Welsh Row, which he considers "the best street of Nantwich". The street has many listed buildings and is known for its mixture of architectural styles, including timber-framed black-and-white cottages such as the Wilbraham's and Widows' Almshouses, Georgian town houses such as Townwell House and number 83, and Victorian buildings such as the former Grammar School, Primitive Methodist Chapel and Tollemache Almshouses.
39 Welsh Row is one of three banks in the town dating from the Victorian era which are listed buildings; the others are the former District Bank, designed by Alfred Waterhouse, and Barclays Bank, designed by Thomas Bower, both of which are on Churchyard Side. Number 39 is currently used as offices.[11]
Primitive Methodist Chapel
Building. The Primitive Methodist Chapel is a former Primitive Methodist church on Welsh Row in Nantwich, Cheshire, England. Built in 1840, it is listed at grade II. The chapel closed in 2001, and the building has been partially converted to residential use.[12]
Congregational Chapel
The Congregational Chapel, also known as the Independent Chapel, is a former Congregational or Independent church in Nantwich, Cheshire, England. It is located on Monks Lane, now a pedestrian walkway, opposite the Dysart Buildings and immediately north east of St Mary's Church. Built in 1841–42, it is listed at grade II. The chapel closed in the late 20th century, and the building has been converted to residential use.[13]
11 Churchyard Side
11 Churchyard Side is a Victorian bank in Gothic Revival style, in Nantwich, Cheshire, England. It stands on the town square, opposite the parish church. Dating from 1876, the bank was designed by local architect Thomas Bower as a branch of the Midland Bank, and later became a branch of Barclays. It is listed at grade II.
11 Churchyard Side is one of three banks in the town dating from the Victorian era which are listed buildings; the others are the former District Bank, designed by Alfred Waterhouse, also on Churchyard Side, and the former Savings Bank on Welsh Row.[14]
Churche's Mansion
Building. Churche's Mansion is a timber-framed, black-and-white Elizabethan mansion house at the eastern end of Hospital Street in Nantwich, Cheshire, England. The Grade I listed building dates from 1577, and is one of the very few to have survived the Great Fire of Nantwich in 1583.
Built for Richard Churche, a wealthy Nantwich merchant, and his wife, it remained in their family until the 20th century. In 1930, it was rescued from being shipped to the US by Edgar Myott and his wife, who began restoration work. As well as a dwelling, the mansion has been used as a school, restaurant, shop, and granary and hay store.
The building has four gables to the front; the upper storey and the attics all overhang with jetties. The upper storeys feature decorative panels, and the exterior has many gilded carvings. The principal rooms have oak panelling, some of which is Elizabethan in date. The architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner considered Churche's Mansion to be among the best timber-framed Elizabethan buildings in Cheshire, describing it as "an outstanding piece of decorated half-timber architecture."[15]