General Information
The Church.
John Bird Sumner, Lord Bishop of Chester,
consecrated the Church in 1845 and it was built in Henbury at the instigation of
Thomas Marsland who acquired Henbury Hall in 1842. At that time the local area
contained some pretty unsavoury characters and had ".....long born an evil
reputation, and was a colony of poachers and lawless men." He decided that
a church was needed and gave £800 to the building fund, the stained glass
windows, a clock for the tower and £1000 to endow the living while his wife
funded the organ. The total cost was about £1600.
The bell, weighing 7 cwts. and costing £40.8s,
is much older than the Church being about 500 years old and came from a peal in
Aldford Parish Church near Chester.
The
Church is made of local stone, accommodates 200 and as you can see it occupies a
very pleasant semi rural site adjacent to the A537 Macclesfield - Chelford road.
The Church Hall.
The Church Hall was built in 1979 and extended in
1992.
It has 2 committee rooms, a large well equipped kitchen and a sizeable hall with
a stage.
The hall can accommodate 120 people for dancing, 165 closely seated and has an
entertainment licence. It is well utilised and is available for hire at competitive
rates.
Contact: Mrs. Mary Worthington 01615 424372.
Publications.
The Parish Church of St. Thomas Henbury and
Broken Cross Magazine.
The Church publishes a monthly magazine, which contains information about
the Church and its activities, local events, reports from the Parish Council,
Henbury Millennium Green Trust and the Henbury Society.
A yearly subscription costs £4.00, which includes delivery in the Macclesfield
area.
Individual magazines can be obtained in the Church price 40p each.
A
History of the Church of St. Thomas Henbury and Broken Cross.
This is a very informative history of the Church and the surrounding area
from the Norman Conquest onwards. It was written by a former Church Warden in
1994 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the building of the Church and
contains some fascinating information about its founding and subsequent
development up to the present day.
Copies are priced £3.00 and can be obtained from the Vicar.
The St. Thomas Cookery Book.
This entertaining little book again written for the Church's 150th
anniversary contains over 45 recipes contributed by members of the congregation.
These are as varied as our congregation and as befitting a rural parish contain
a fair proportion of country dishes and folk lore. Whether when "the
cockerel goes crowing to bed, he'll wake up with a wet head" is always
correct we do not know but it is part of our folk lore and it and many others
sayings are contained in the book.
Copies are priced 50p and can be obtained from the Vicar.
Post Cards.
A range of attractive post cards showing the Church and the surrounding area
are available in the Church price 10p.