2 June 2026 St Michaels & All Saints Church and Peveril Castle

 

Today my first stop was at St. Michael's &All Saints Church in Macclesfield, Cheshire, England. I got off to a later start than usual, because one of the church volunteers, Alexa, was out that  morning, but the Pastor and the staff at the Church wanted Alexa to be the one to show me around.

Alexa had been with the Church for quite some time, and had a brother who does genealogy, so she was all too excited to show me the highlights of her church. What makes this church so special to me, is that I have eight ancestors buried here, and they were the benefactors of the church back in the 1400s. They even have their own chapel off to the side, and some very nice carved stone effigies of the Savage family.

Above is the Altar in the Savage Chapel. In addition to several fine stained glass pieces (made in 1904), probably the oldest piece in the room was the table underneath the altar. It is the original table that was there when the chapel was built. Look closely and you can see the worn beveled edge of the stone. 

The other thing that makes this church so special, was that my 22nd Great Grandmother took a personal interest in worshipping there when my 22nd Great Grandfather was in town hunting in a nearby forest. Her name was Eleanor of Castile, first wife of King Edward I, my 22nd Great Grandfather. The church has many hidden gems to remind you of how important this connection was to the people in Macclesfield. Here's a couple of of Eleanor:

Eleanor is the woman in the right stained glass piece, and her coat of arms in in the window underneath her.

This is a carving found just to the right of the main church altar. You can see it in the first picture, and more details on the second picture.

This carving is of King Edward I. It is near the back of the church where the cafeteria is, tucked away in the corner, and nobody even notices it. Yet Alexa would know how much this interested me. Alexa also made me a book containing all of the interesting things about her church, including the stuff about my other ancestors, the Savage Family.

Back wall of the Savage Chapel

This church started out as a small chapel built around 1220. In 1278, it was consecrated to Queen  Eleanor, who passed away in 1290 at the age of 49. The Savage Chapel was built from 1503-1507, and was commissioned by Thomas Savage in memory of his brother, Sir John Savage V, who was a Commander at the Battle of Bosworth on Henry VII's side, and later died in the Siege of Boulogne France in 1492. He was also a Knight of the Garter and the Earl of Clifton. 

John Savage V

John Savage IV and his wife Lady Katherine de Stanley

John Savage VIII and his wife Lady Elizabeth Manners

These are the ancestors of mine associated with this church, but there may be more that we do not know about. I asked the Reverend Martin Stephens, the Pastor of the Church, if they had any burial records for the church, but unfortunately he did not. He did give me the information for the Cheshire County Archives where I could work with them to see if they had any records on the church, but as with many of these old churches, records have been lost, destroyed, or succumbed to the ravages of time, so there is no telling what their status is. 

Before I go on to Peveril Castle, I do have one last thing to share that Alexa educated me on. Usually, when a Catholic Church was built upon a hill, it was given the name of St. Michael the Archangel (see one of my previous posts on Mont Ste. Michel in France and Saint Michaels Mount in Cornwall). This church was built on a hill and dedicated to him, and there is a beautiful mosaic tile of St. Michael on the floor of the altar that has to be mentioned.

Here you can see it right in between the wooden chairs. Below, is a close up of it.

I really love visiting these Parish Churches. They have so much history and character, and really are where the soul of the congregation resides in the small towns where they are. Thank you Alexa, Father Martin, and everyone who helped make this visit something special.

The next stop was Peveril Castle. I have heard of the Peak District of England, but today was my first time ever seeing it, and I believe it is truly the most beautiful part of England I have seen yet. 

Most of the pictures I will be posting for Peveril Castle will be for the walk up and down the mountain to get to it. When I reached the top, I was pretty winded, but the first two thoughts that went through my mind were: 1). What did I do with my bottle of lemonade and 2). If it rains, I am screwed. You can see the skies threatening to get me wet.

Peveril Castle was built sometime in between The Battle of Hastings in 1066 and the Domesday Book survey in 1086. William Peverell owned lands in nearby Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, and had possession of the castle until Henry II took it back. Even though the Peverell's retained possession, they did not own the castle. When the line died out in 1199, William de Ferrers, the 4th Earl of Derby, asserted his right to the Peverell family estates. His Grandmother was Margaret Peverell, and had married his Grandfather, Robert de Ferrers, 2nd Earl of Derby. Under King John, the Ferrers were given custody of the castle back to them. 

As you can see, this castle was way up on top of a mountain. It is beyond me why anyone would ever want to assault this castle. Behind the keep in the picture above, it a sheer drop off that would be extremely difficult to climb to take the castle. Here's a look at that back side.

If you like hiking and camping, the Peak district is for you. In 1223, the castle was back in the hands of the Crown. The castle was then given over to the Dukes of Lancaster, specifically John of Gaunt (my 19th Great Grandfather). John of Gaunt was the second oldest son of King Edward III, and the younger brother of Edward the Black Prince, Heir to the English Crown. When the Black Prince died before his father Edward III, his oldest son, Richard II, became next in line. Richard wasn't a strong King, and there's more to that story. Have you ever heard of Henry Bolingbroke?

Anyway, I digress. This castle is made mostly of hard limestone. Most of the castles that I have been visiting in the Welsh Marches have been red sandstone, so as I proceed East across the middle of England, Limestone is becoming the rock of choice for building castles. When I visited Southeastern England three years ago from Canterbury through Devon, Flint was the stone of choice. 

None of my ancestors died at Peveril Castle, but Maud de Peverell was born there in 1090, and the de Ferrers had possession of it for a while. Still, it is a well defended castle, and tough to get to. It is also a little piece of my ancestry, and had to be a stop on my Genealogy trail this year.