Anne Lever's acclaimed History of North Rode, cost £2, is now available from the church, Congleton and Macclesfield Information centres, or Marilyn Ainslie (01260 223346).
North Rode church was built in 1846 by Thomas Ryle Daintry, whose family owned North Rode Manor and the estate from 1808 to 1923, and his brother the Reverend John Daintry. It was designed by Charles and James Trubshaw (James designed the Grosvenor Bridge in Chester and Charles the Midland Hotel Manchester.)
Prior to this the township of North Rode had come within the ancient parishes of Prestbury and Gawsworth within the old Macclesfield Hundred so its parish church had been either St Peter Prestbury or St James Gawsworth.
In Nicholas Pevsner’s series ‘The Buildings of England’ it is described as “A charming Estate Church”. It is stone with a tiled roof in Romanesque and Gothic Revival Style. It has a four bay nave, a south porch, a two bay chancel, a vestry and a west tower. There is a little stair turret which rises above the height of the tower and contains casement windows. The west door is loosely Romanesque in style and decorated with spaced chevron motifs. Above there is a circular clock and three lancet bell openings. The windows are in Early English style and over the south porch is a niche containing a statue of St Michael.
The interior of the church has a hammer beam roof and the nave and chancel are floored with beautiful encaustic tiles with the Daintry family crest and the initials of Jane and Thomas Ryle Daintry all the way down the aisle. The Family crest also appears in the windows There are mural tablets on the walls in memory of the Daintry 
family also eight family sarcophagus graves on the east side of the church in the churchyard. There are four brass corona chandeliers and the stained glass windows are described by Pevsner as “delightfully bad”!
The woodwork is of particular interest having been carved by local people. The rood screen is of great beauty and was carved by Mrs John Ridgeway in 1899. She also carved the altar table which was presented in 1858 by Mrs Seymour in memory of her grand-daughter. The font cover in memory of James Hogg was carved by eight members of the choir who had been taught their craft by Mrs Ridgeway. In 1904 the new oak choir stalls were added, the work of the Macclesfield School of Carvers, and presented in 1904 by Mrs Hammond Walker in memory of her husband. The kneelers were all stitched in the 1970s by ladies in the village and were organised by Mrs Tudor Evans of the Grange.
The bell is 37’5” in diameter and weighs 9 cwt. It was cast in 1714 by Abraham Rudhall a well-known bell founder from Gloucester and is the 4th from a ring of 5 bells in Kirkham, Lancashire. The bell has the following inscription ‘Robert Nickson. John Hull: Church wardens A (Bell) R 1714.
Anne Lever's acclaimed History of North Rode, cost £2, is now available from the church, Congleton and Macclesfield Information centres, or Marilyn Ainslie (01260 223346).
North Rode church was built in 1846 by Thomas Ryle Daintry, whose family owned North Rode Manor and the estate from 1808 to 1923, and his brother the Reverend John Daintry. It was designed by Charles and James Trubshaw (James designed the Grosvenor Bridge in Chester and Charles the Midland Hotel Manchester.)
Prior to this the township of North Rode had come within the ancient parishes of Prestbury and Gawsworth within the old Macclesfield Hundred so its parish church had been either St Peter Prestbury or St James Gawsworth.
In Nicholas Pevsner’s series ‘The Buildings of England’ it is described as “A charming Estate Church”. It is stone with a tiled roof in Romanesque and Gothic Revival Style. It has a four bay nave, a south porch, a two bay chancel, a vestry and a west tower. There is a little stair turret which rises above the height of the tower and contains casement windows. The west door is loosely Romanesque in style and decorated with spaced chevron motifs. Above there is a circular clock and three lancet bell openings. The windows are in Early English style and over the south porch is a niche containing a statue of St Michael.
The interior of the church has a hammer beam roof and the nave and chancel are floored with beautiful encaustic tiles with the Daintry family crest and the initials of Jane and Thomas Ryle Daintry all the way down the aisle. The Family crest also appears in the windows There are mural tablets on the walls in memory of the Daintry family also eight family sarcophagus graves on the east side of the church in the churchyard. There are four brass corona chandeliers and the stained glass windows are described by Pevsner as “delightfully bad”!
The woodwork is of particular interest having been carved by local people. The rood screen is of great beauty and was carved by Mrs John Ridgeway in 1899. She also carved the altar table which was presented in 1858 by Mrs Seymour in memory of her grand-daughter. The font cover in memory of James Hogg was carved by eight members of the choir who had been taught their craft by Mrs Ridgeway. In 1904 the new oak choir stalls were added, the work of the Macclesfield School of Carvers, and presented in 1904 by Mrs Hammond Walker in memory of her husband. The kneelers were all stitched in the 1970s by ladies in the village and were organised by Mrs Tudor Evans of the Grange.
The bell is 37’5” in diameter and weighs 9 cwt. It was cast in 1714 by Abraham Rudhall a well-known bell founder from Gloucester and is the 4th from a ring of 5 bells in Kirkham, Lancashire. The bell has the following inscription ‘Robert Nickson. John Hull: Church wardens A (Bell) R 1714.
