Carved Cheshire Cat, & clock, St Wilfrids, Church Ln, Grappenhall Village, South Warrington, Cheshire, England, UK, WA4 3EP

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At Grappenhall, just four miles from Lewis Carroll’s birthplace, cobbled streets lead to a large sandstone church that eclipses the two handsome country pubs that it neighbours. In the churchyard, a group of bellringers point out a snarling sandstone cat set high on the tower above an arched window that they, and many others in the village, believe to be the inspiration for Carroll’s cat. One bellringer tells me that the cat is the mark of one of the stonemasons who built the church. Excitedly, I see that the cat, which is carved from sandstone blackened with age, appears and disappears in the shadows cast by the rolling clouds. But there is no hint of a grin, and, in fact, there isn’t much that is cat-like about it. It looks more like an eroded sculpture of a lion.

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Size: 4480px × 5584px
Location: Church Ln, Grappenhall Village, South Warrington, Cheshire, England, UK, WA4 3EP
Photo credit: © Tony Smith / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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