Spotlight on Local History with James Balme
The beauty of the Cheshire village of Lower Peover cannot be underestimated, with its chocolate box cottages, its wonderful old pub and stunning ancient church dating back to early medieval times.
The beautiful church of St Oswald with it’s stunning tower dating to around 1500 AD stands side by side with the Warren de Tabley arms hotel, known to most visitors as the ‘Bells of Peover’, however the name of the pub has nothing to do with the church or its famous bells but derives its name from the ‘Bell’ family who owned the establishment in the 20th century.
Lower Peover stands approximately four miles south of Knutsford and is easily accessed from Warrington today. A popular destination for locals and visitors, Lower Peover is like taking a walk back through time.
But as well as the church and the nearby ‘Bells of Peover’ pub the village itself has a wonderful history of its own including an old schoolhouse with a great story to tell.
The schoolhouse was founded by one Richard Comberbach in the early 18th century and his life is a great story in itself. Richard was born in Latchford near Lymm in the year of 1644 and he was the son of a gentleman. In the year of 1665 Richard was to attend Cambridge University, where he studied hard to attain the highest qualifications possible. In 1687 Richard was to become the curate of St Oswald’s church in Lower Peover. Richard was a staunch supporter of the Royalist Stewart monarchy and following the revolution of 1688 he resigned his position as curate with immediate effect. Richard was to remain in the area and he became a local farmer, however his lifetime ambition was to found his own school within the village.
It was in 1709 along with financial help from his wife Margaret that Richard purchased a plot of land in the South West corner of the churchyard where he went on to build his dream of a detached schoolhouse. In 1710 the doors opened for the first time, seeing Richard’s lifetime ambition finally fulfilled. Richard and Margaret were to become the teachers of the school. They went on to appoint a Mr John Mear as the first master of the school who became well known for his manner and discipline. John remained at the school for many years to come and upon his death in the year of 1734 John was buried in the churchyard of St Oswald’s close to a large yew tree. The grave is still visible to this day and a marker has been placed next to the grave by the children who today attend the local village school nearby. The old schoolhouse is today used as a private children’s nursery carrying on the tradition of education within its walls.
St Oswald’s church is delightful place and the timber-framed building and churchyard remains a great attraction to the many visitors as well as the local people who live close by. The church is still used regularly for worship and is at the heart of the community. The church is one of a very few such buildings to be supported purely by oak pillars and beams.
My film, On the trail of Richard Comberbach, shot at Lower Peover, can be viewed for free with many other local history films by visiting my channel, youtube.com/Tvpresenter4history
