Rostherne

The Parish Church of St Mary at Rostherne sits on a hill a short distance from Tatton Park. To the north the site provides a wonderful prospect of the largest of Cheshire's meres and of Bowdon and Hale beyond.

The church's documented history begins in the twelfth century but there has probably been a place of worship at the site since before the Norman Conquest.

The 119 acre mere is now a national nature reserve and so it can only be viewed from a distance. The following story is told in Cheshire County Council's brochure:

It is said that centuries ago one of the church bells came away from its ropes and rolled into the mere. After this had happened three times, the local workmen decided to leave it there. Legend has it that at dawn on Easter Day a mermaid swims into the mere through a channel from the Irish Sea and rings the lost bell.