St James' Church, Gawsworth

There is a record of a chapel on the site in the 13th century but the present building dates from the 15th century. ==Architecture==

Exterior The church is constructed in yellow and red ashlar sandstone with stone roofs. The tower has angular buttresses with niches which used to contain statues. It also has gargoyles, eight pinnacles, the coats of arms of Cheshire families, and Tudor badges. The porch also has niches over the doorway. The chancel screen is dated 1894. The octagonal 16th-century font sits on a 19th-century stem with a wooden cover. The stained glass in the east window is by William Wailes. There is a ring of eight bells. Six of these were cast at the Whitechapel Bell Foundry, one by Charles and George Mears in 1856, the other five by Mears and Stainbank in 1890. The other two bells were cast by John Taylor and Company in 1907. The parish registers date from 1557. ==External features==

A pair of 18th-century gate piers at the entrance of the churchyard are listed Grade II. On their fronts are carvings of skull and crossbones. In the churchyard is a 15th- or 16th-century cross base in sandstone ashlar. It consists of a square cross base and an octagonal shaft on a stepped plinth. A 20th-century wooden circular cross has been set on the shaft. A section of the garden wall of Gawsworth Old Hall, also Grade II listed, separates the churchyard from the grounds of the Hall. The churchyard contains three war graves, of two British soldiers of World War I and one of World War II. ==See also==