Malpas: Architecture, History and Panoramic Views

Malpas combines impressive architecture with a landscape shaped by historic paths, hills and wide-ranging views. St Oswald's, Castle Hill and several circular walks offer different ways to explore the area: you can immerse yourself in medieval history, walk through streets and fields, or choose a longer route with views across Wales. This combination can also help you plan a holiday apartment or holiday house: the key question is whether you want to focus your stay mainly on culture, short walks or more extensive routes.

St Oswald's and the architectural history of Malpas

St Oswald's is a Grade I listed building and is regarded as one of the finest medieval buildings in Cheshire. The church dates from the late 14th century and was largely rebuilt above sill level in the late 15th century. Red sandstone and lead roofs define its appearance. Anyone interested in historic church architecture will find not only a distinctive building here, but also several clearly identifiable historical layers.

St Oswald's is also home to the Brereton monument, erected around 1522. Naturalistic effigies of Sir Randal and Eleanor are displayed on the chest tomb. The historic picture is complemented by several other noteworthy buildings in Malpas: the Old Printing House is a Grade II* listed building of architectural significance and stands out for its unusual neoclassical design for a small building. The Tithebarn is a 17th-century timber-framed building in the characteristic Cheshire style. The present Gothic, crocketed cross was erected in 1877 as a memorial to Rev Charles Thurlow.

Castle Hill and the landscape around Malpas

The motte at Castle Hill is an early monument dating from around 1100, from the period after the Norman Conquest. It formed part of a group of mottes that created a defensive system to contain the constant Welsh raids on the fertile agricultural areas of South Cheshire. Castle Hill survives as a truncated earthen mound on a spur of the Broxton Hills. The motte overlooks Malpas and a large part of the surrounding landscape.

Even beyond the individual buildings, the wider surroundings are worth exploring. The landscape around Malpas offers panoramic views of Wales as well as South Cheshire and Shropshire. Malpas also lies on the section of the old Roman road known as Watling Street, which ran between Chester and Wroxeter in Shropshire. This provides a varied historical setting for planning your trip, without requiring culture and landscape to be considered separately.

Three circular walks for different day plans

Walk Number 1 is a circular route through the streets and fields of Malpas. You should allow around 30 to 45 minutes for it. This makes it suitable as a compact walk within a day on which you also want to visit buildings or other destinations in Malpas. Note that access to all the fields on Walk Number 1 is through kissing gates, meaning narrow field gates.

Walk Number 2 runs between Overton Heath and Cuddington Heath and begins at Malpas Cross. You should allow around 1.5 to 2 hours for this circuit. Walk Number 2 offers views of the Clwydian Hills, including the summit of Moel Fammau. If you want to set aside time for a longer stretch and give greater weight to landscape views than to a short walk around the village, this is the clearly different option.

Walk Number 3 is a rising circular route through the fields east of Malpas Cross and follows the Marches Way. It therefore complements the other two walks with a route where the ascent is explicitly part of the character of the walk. You can thus fit the three circular walks into your day plan according to the time available and the type of route you want, without having to fit every experience into a single outing.

Choosing Malpas as a holiday destination

Looking for accommodation in Malpas can be guided by your preferred travel rhythm. For a culture-focused stay, St Oswald's, the Brereton monument, the Old Printing House, the Tithebarn and the cross are the main points of interest. Anyone mainly interested in experiencing the landscape can take Castle Hill and the circular walks, with their different time requirements and views, into account. When choosing your holiday apartment or holiday house, consider which outings you actually want to include and match the length of your stay to shorter and longer days.

For more places to help you get your bearings, see Frodsham, Chester, Clutton, Sandbach, Barthomley, Nantwich, South Wirral and Tarvin.

For the higher-level travel overview: Cheshire.