St. Oswald’s Church , Winwick , will step back hundreds of years in time when it welcomes visitors to its Heritage Weekend event on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 September. The Church, one of the most iconic in the North West, will reveal yet more of its fascinating 1000 years of history with facts and displays as it focuses on the tragic story and death of a rich young heiress and the aftermath of the Civil war Battle of Winwick fought in 1648 . Three hundred and fifty years on, the Battle still continues to reveal new facts and finds emerging from the terrible conflict.
“The young heiress carried off in 1826 and deceived into marrying a fortune hunter at age 15, dead at 19,” sums up thesad and remarkable story of Ellen (Turner) Legh. Ellen, was the only child and heiress of the very wealthy Turner family of Shrigley Hall near Macclesfield. Her tragic death, nearly200 years ago, is commemorated by her imposing marble memorial placed in the 14th century Legh family chapel at St Oswald’s.
The Battle of Winwick is a significant part of St Oswald’s history. Fought in the second phase of the English Civil waron land surrounding and within the church itself, it resulted in the death of one thousand Scottish soldiers and the capture of 1,500 men who were then held as prisoners in the Church.They had formed a major force in King Charles’ Royalist army and their defeat by Cromwell’s troops led to the execution of the king only months later.
The heritage event will feature new facts in talks by historiansand researchers as well as a host of historical items on view dating back to Saxon and Tudor times. The Battle of WinwickSociety stand at the church will have displays of Civil war weapons and armor and items found after the battle. A giant, fearsome manikin of a cavalry trooper, wearing the clothes of the period, will set the scene.
Andrew Abram, the Society secretary, will give a talk on research projects and society activities in the past year which will include progress on plans to erect a permanent monument on the site of the battlefield in Hermitage Green. He will report on some of the exciting finds from recent searches on the land and describe the first phase of a digital mapping scheme of the battlefield ground. The detection work on the first section has already yielded a number of King Charles the First silver shillings.
Paul Wright, Society chairman, said : ” This will be the third year of our involvement with the Church heritage event. We have an excellent relationship with St Oswald’s and we very much regard the church as being the home of our society. We are in the process of creating an information board within the church which will present a factual overview of the battle.It will include the story of Major John Cholmley, a brave officer of the English Parliament army, who lost his life leading the first group of Cromwell’s soldiers into the battle. He was the only soldier from the many hundreds lost to be buried in St. Oswald’s church yard.”
Eileen Monies, volunteer historical researcher, Lyme Park,National Trust, will present a moving talk on the short life and death of Ellen (Turner)Legh, the young heiress, whose white marble memorial is in the St Oswald’s Legh family chapel. It depicts Ellen, who died in childbirth, cradling her dead baby. She is being welcomed by an angel as her grieving husband, holding their surviving year old baby girl, reachesout to them. Ellen was abducted from her Liverpool boarding school in1826 by a fortune hunter, Edward Gibbon Wakefield, when she was only 15 and taken by coach and horses to Gretna Green where she was tricked into marriage. A hunt for the missing girl and her abductor took law enforcers to Calais,France, where Edward Wakefield was arrested and Ellen was found and returned safely to her family. She met and later married Thomas Legh, of Lyme Hall, Cheshire, a magistrate involved in Wakefield’s case and trial, at Lancaster Castle.She died in 1831 in childbirth when only 19 years old. Only one of her three babies, a daughter, Ellen Jane, survived.
Eileen said:” The story caused a national sensation at the time.It is almost the stuff of a novel and ended with Ellen’s tragic death at a very young age. I am really looking forward to giving the talk in the context of St. Oswald’s with the memorial there in the chapel for people to go and see.”
The Heritage weekend will be opened by the Reverend Martin Fuller, parish priest at St Oswald’s. He said: “This is a place with a fascinating history. It has so much to offer and it will be a privilege and joy as we gather together to celebrate such a rich heritage. I look forward to welcoming everyone to St Oswald’s and to exciting revelations about the happenings in its past and in the area surrounding it.”
Heritage Weekend :
Saturday 12 September: Church doors open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Opening 11 a.m. by Rev. Martin Fuller. 11 05 Talk by Andrew Abram, secretary of the Battle of Winwicksociety. 2 p.m. in the Church hall: Talk by Eileen Monies,Lyme Park, National Trust, on the Ellen (Turner)Leghmemorial and the links between St Oswald’s and Lyme Park.
Sunday 13 September: Church opens at 12 noon until 3 p.m. 1 p.m : battlefield walk with society members.
Free entry. Refreshments available in church hall.
Press enquiries: Janet Connah on behalf of St Oswald’s Church. August 2026