of the Free Grammar School to be Rector and Lecturer of the church.
The mayor, bailiffs, and commonalty were made patrons, but in 1835,
these arrangements having failed to work satisfactorily, the patronage
was transferred to trustees who acted as managers of the school and in
1864 the lectureship was abolished, the rectory was severed from the
office of Head Master and the Trustees of the school were charged with
a payment of _£_200 per annum towards the stipend of the Rector. In
1874 the advowson was sold to a private person. A great deal of
restoration, justifiable and otherwise, has taken place, the decay of
the local sandstone having made large repairs necessary. In 1861 much
renewal of the external stone work was carried out. Unfortunately
shortsighted ideas of economy led to the use of the same poor stone
and much has recently had to be done over again, this time with the
harder Runcorn stone used also at St. Michael's. The interior was
restored in 1875, galleries erected in 1735 and 1838, and high pews
were removed, the floor, which had been raised three feet, lowered,
the lantern stage of the tower opened up by removing a ringing floor
and a light iron gallery above the tower arches provided for the
ringers. The original groined ceiling has thus been made visible from
below.


THE EXTERIOR

Although small in area compared with the other churches, both exterior
and interior give an impression of size and dignity which does not
belong to many much larger buildings. In the exterior this is no doubt
due to the pseudo-cruciform arrangement, the bold central tower and
the height of the main roof, which would have appeared even greater
had the roadways not been so much raised.