Outlying Areas: Plemstall to Stanlow and Dunham-on-the-Hill

	St. Peter's Church, Plemstall There are records of a church here as far back as the 7th century, when the Mersey used to flood the surrounding land and the locality (barely elevated) was known as the Isle of Chester. A legend, perhaps of the 5th or 6th century, tells of a shipwrecked fisherman who, on finding refuge here, built a church as an act of thanksgiving, dedicating it to St Peter the fisherman. Although the surrounding land has been drained, the church still stands in an amazingly isolated location. The name Plemstall or Plegmundstall ('the habitation of Plegmund'), derives from an eponymous 9th century scholar who took refuge from the Danes as a hermit on the Isle of Chester. He became tutor to King Alfred and assisted him in the consolidation of his kingdom; he was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury in 890 and is buried in Canterbury Cathedral. The original church was 12th century, but the present sandstone building is mainly 15th century. The tower was added in 1826. Most of the original glass has gone, but there are fragments from the 14th century. In a display case in the north aisle are a Breeches Bible of 1608, a King James Bible of 1611, a folio edition of the bible printed by Edward Whitchurche in 1549, a black letter bible of 1549 and a King James Bible of 1623.
	St. Lawrence's Church, Stoak The little village of Stoak is these days entirely encircled by motorways and the Shropshire Union Canal. A Saxon chapel was originally on the site and fragments of architecture still present in the 19th century showed that a new church must have been built soon after the Norman conquest. Sources from the 14th century speak of 'a sumptuous fabric of stone and wood, of great size, with four bells, [...] then becoming ruinous'. The present church of St. Lawrence dates the rebuilding of 1827, though the north wall and the Tudor hammerbeam roof of the nave were left largely intact.
Stoak in Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of England (1848) The church, which is the burial-place of the Bunbury family, has a Norman doorway, some ancient wooden screen-work, and a small chapel attached to the south side of the chancel; it was partially rebuilt in the year 1827.
	St. Lawrence's Church, Stoak
	The Bunbury Arms, Stoak
	St. Mary's Church, Thornton-le-Moors A chapel was present on the site of St. Mary's in Saxon times and is recorded in the Domesday Book. The nave, chancel, south aisle and south door of the present sandstone church (formerly dedicated to St Helen) date from the 14th century and the chancel retains its medieval hammerbeam roof. A chapel (the Elton Chapel) was added in the 16th century. The tower also dates from this time, but was damaged by fire in 1909 and rebuilt in 1910. A south porch was added in the late 17th century and a full restoration was carried out in 1878. Inside, the altar rails and altar table are dated 1694 and here are two 17th century fonts and a mediaeval piscina.
Thornton-le-Moors in Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of England (1848) The parish is situated on the banks of the river Mersey [...]. The surface is in general flat; the soil partakes of the nature of peat, and on the rising grounds is either marl or a strong clay. There is a packet daily by the river; and the Ellesmere and Chester canal, which passes about a mile from the western boundary of the parish, also affords facilities of conveyance. [...] The church contains portions of several styles, with a handsome tower.
	Ancient and Modern at Thornton-le-Moors The vast Stanlow refinery forms a surreal backdrop to St. Mary's church.
	The Church of St. James the Great, Ince Ince is an ancient settlement that, although hemmed in by industrial sites, retains the appropriate charm and atmosphere. The approach down a leafy lane sets the scene. The name comes from the Welsh 'Ynys' or island as it was once the only habitable site in the surrounding marshland. The Church of St. James the Great is built on the site of a Norman chapel, no trace of which remains. The present church dates from the middle ages (there are 14th and 15th century windows in the chancel), though the tower and part of the chancel are all that remain of this; the remainder dates from a major rebuilding in 1854. The area is rich in ecclesiastical associations, the remains of the historic Cistercian abbey of Stanlow, founded in 1178, being nearby at Stanlow Point. It must have been a lonely spot then, but is hardly less isolated now, being inaccessible to the public situated as it is between the Manchester Ship Canal and the River Mersey.
Ince in Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of England (1848) This place was distinguished for a monastic institution that belonged to the abbots of St. Werburgh's, Chester. The dormitory, refectory, and chapel still remain; the two former have been converted into a farmhouse, and the chapel into a barn, an object of great beauty, the eastern side being thickly covered with ivy. The walls are about six feet in thickness, with eight large bay windows, now bricked up; and the monastery was surrounded by a moat, still traceable by parts of its outer walls. The parish comprises by measurement 1500 acres, and is bounded on the north by the river Mersey, where a pier has been constructed, at the distance of half a mile from the village. The central portion is rising ground, and each extremity consists of marsh land protected by an embankment from the tides of the Mersey, which flow up two small brooks forming the eastern and western boundaries of the parish. [...] The church, situated on the highest point of a rock, has some traces in the Norman style, but the greater part of the building is of later date.