The Church has been at the centre of village life for hundreds of years.

 It is documented that there was a previous wooden structure built about 1541 on the site of the present Church and there was probably an earlier one too.

 During the mid 1600’s the wooden church became dangerous to worshippers and a local rate  was levied on parishioners to fund the building of the present church.  Not enough money was raised so a petition was made, through the Bishop of Chester, to Queen Anne to grant a ‘Brief’ which authorised the collection of money throughout the country to help fund the building of the church in Church Minshull. Set out in dark bricks on the tower is a date of 1702 -  the Church was  actually completed  2 or 3  years later.

In the Churchyard, against the tower, can be seen the Wade family tomb.  This family lived at Wades Green – on the Nantwich Road.  It was thought that the tomb contained the remains of George Wade, Privy Councillor, Field Marshal and Commander of the King’s Army during the Jacobite Rebellion in 1745.  He may have been born at Wades Green Hall but his body is buried in Westminster Abbey.  In the 1980’s repair work to the top of the tomb made it possible to view the coffins.  All were of lead and bore the family crest with the name and date of each deceased person.  Records of this can be found in the Chester Archive Office,  http://www.chester.gov.uk/.  There is an excellent record of the clergy who had the living of Church Minshull. When the tower was built 5 bells were installed with room for a 6th.  In 1982 an additional treble bell was given to the Church by Dr. M Parkes.  It was then found that one of original bells was cracked and a replacement was cast and installed in 1983.

In the late 60’s a new vicarage was built at Minshull Vernon (the two parishes were joined) and the Vicarage in Church Minshull was sold.   About mid 1980 the two parishes were separated.  The Parish of Minshull Vernon became much larger because of the housing development at Coppenhall.  Church Minshull was joined with  St David’s Wettenhall, St Oswald’s Worleston and St Mary’s Acton;  the vicarage for the four parishes being at Acton.  These parishes are known as The Cross Country parishes, click here for the official group website. In 1999 it was found that extensive work was necessary to repair the roof which was in a dangerous condition and the church was forced to close.  Services were held on a regular basis in the Village Hall until it too underwent extensive restoration work.  The services were then conducted in a garage at The Spinney, the home of Mr & Mrs P Robinson.   Normal services in the church recommenced at Easter 2004. Regular church services are taken at St Bartholomew’s, details of which are listed on the Cross Country website.

2008 will see the end of an ambitious programme of structural repairs and refurbishment, designed to ensure that the church building will survive the next few hundred years.