ECCLESTON, a parish in the lower division of the
hundred of BROXTON, county palatine of CHESTER, comprising
the townships of Eaton and Eccleston, and containing
358 inhabitants, of which number, 292 are in the
township of Eccleston, 2 miles (S.) from Chester. The
living is a rectory, in the archdeaconry and diocese of
Chester, rated in the king's books at £ 15. 13. 11., and
in the patronage of Earl Grosvenor, at whose expense
the church, dedicated to St. Mary, and the burial-place
of the family, was rebuilt in 1808: it is an elegant
structure of red stone, with an embattled tower crowned
with pinnacles; over the altar is a painting, by Caravaggio,
of the Nativity. The village is situated on the
river Dee, where is a free school, established by Earl
Grosvenor. Eccleston was occupied by Sir William
Brereton's army, during the siege of Chester, in 1645.
The old Watling-street passes through the parish, and
near the church is a tumulus.