At the east end of the chancel, is a large and handsome altar window, of the Perpendicular Gothic style; and on the outside, immediately above it, is a carved shield of arms, containing “the Griffin segreant,” the armorial bearing of the Traffords. In the projecting wall, on the north side of the altar, is a small square open recess, apparently intended, in former ages, for an almbury, or aumbery, in which the sacred vessels, and articles used in the celebration of the mass, were usually kept. The roof of the church is very handsome, of oak, the cross beams being elaborately carved, and in various places in the roof, the initial letters H. T. appear in the ancient character, doubtless intended for Henry Trafford, the last rector of Wilmslow, before the overthrow of the Papal supremacy, and the first of that rectory of the Reformed religion, if the Reformation can strictly be said to have been established, during the lifetime of the capricious monarch, Henry VIII. I shall have occasion to say more of this ecclesiastic hereafter. There are also one or two shields of arms painted on the beams, containing “the Griffin segreant, gules;” they furnish additional proof, that a large portion of the church, and probably the roof, were rebuilt or renovated, just before the Reformation. Amongst other ornaments on the roof, an etoile, or star, appears painted in several places where the beams intersect each other. { 256}
The font is massive, quite devoid of ornament, and bears the appearance of great antiquity.
At the west end of the church is an arch, which is said to have formerly opened into the belfry of the tower; it is an exact segment of a circle; but as it has not the slightest appearance of the zig-zag, or dog’s-tooth, or any other of the ornaments so generally met with, on Norman arches, I am of opinion that it is of a comparatively modern date, and was probably erected when a portion of the church and its tower were rebuilt or altered, not long before the Reformation. This idea receives some degree of countenance from the circumstance, that on the south-west corner of the outside of the tower, is a niche with its carved canopy, which formerly contained an image, said to have been that of the Virgin Mary.