|
THE centre of the front wall of Thomas
Church's house on The Square has sunk over the years, but that dip has been
retained in subsequent work on the building.
The house, strictly No 46 High Street, the
left-hand two gable ends, is one of a pair of buildings rebuilt in 1584 after
the Fire of Nantwich (1583). It was lived in by Thomas Church, a mercer, and it
is now occupied by Nantwich Book Shop.
The upper storey
- over the coffee shop - is open to the public enabling a close inspection of the
centuries-old timbers. But it is approached up a narrow set of stairs and so may
not be available to all.
Thomas Church is interred in the churchyard of nearby St Mary's
Parish Church.
No 42 and 44 High Street - the right-hand pair of gables, occupied by two charity shops
- was lived in by William Church, son of Richard Churche, who built Churche's Mansion. Richard's surname was spelled differently to the other
members of his family. See also this Places to See page.
lSUE
Church, who describes herself as "honorary member of the Church family by
marriage, and leader of the
Nantwich Family History Group", set me straight after I described William
Church as the nephew of Thomas Church. She said: "William was the son of Richard
who built Churche's Mansion. Thomas was the son of Edward, who was Richard's
brother, making them cousins.
"The plaque on the Nantwich Bookshop
states incorrectly that they were uncle and nephew, and a salt display in the
Museum in 2008 had them as father and son!"
lLocation:
In The Square, right in the centre of town.
lOpening
times:
This is a book shop with a coffee lounge/restaurant on the first floor,
keeping normal trading hours.
There is an opportunity to see the interesting second floor.
lAdmission:
As commercial premises, there is no charge for admission.
lDisabled
access?: There is no problem accessing the ground floor book shop, but there
is a set of stairs up to the coffee lounge, and a much-steeper flight of stairs
up to the second floor, both of which will be beyond someone in a wheelchair.
lWebsite:
http://www.nantwichbookshop.co.uk.
Other
images of the Book Shop | Places
to See index |
Websites - tourism
|
