The ancient church of Poulton stood on the site now occupied by the existing edifice, and like it, was dedicated to the Saxon St. Chad or Cheadda, bishop of Mercia, and seated at Chester in A.D. 669. The original structure consisted of only a nave and north aisle, the outer walls of which were composed of sandstone, whilst the double roof rested on semicircular arches, extending from the chancel to the font, and supported on four octagonal pillars. These semicircular arches belonged to a very antique style of architecture, and have given rise to the belief that the pillars were at first massive cylinders, being carved into an angular form about the time of Henry VIII. The pulpit had its place towards the south, and at the east end there appears to have been a small gallery. A pipe clay monument _in memoriam_ of the Singletons, of Staining, stood inside the church, but was, intentionally or accidentally, destroyed when the building was pulled down. A rude brass crucifix and a chalice, both of which belonged to the church previous to the Reformation, are still preserved, one being in the possession of a late priest at Breck chapel, and the other in the Catholic chapel at Claughton. The upper halves of the windows, including the east one, were semicircular in form. In 1622 the old chancel was repaired by the Rev. Peter Whyte, the vicar, and a stone, two feet in length and one foot and a half in depth, bearing the name “Peter Whyte,” and the date “1622,” in raised letters about six inches long, was placed over the east window. This piece of masonry now occupies a situation in the south-west corner of the edifice. The churchyard, which is reported to have been usually in a filthy and disgraceful state, was partly surrounded by a moderately wide ditch, on the brink of which three or four fine sycamore trees flourished, but were cut down when sundry alterations and improvements were effected in the ground. In 1751, after the old church had been standing six centuries and a half, it was determined to demolish it, and erect a more commodious building on the site. The tower, however, was retained, as, being of more recent date, it evinced none of those symptoms of decay which had rendered the body of the edifice dangerous to worshippers. An opinion prevails that the tower was built about the time of Charles I., and such a view is upheld by the discovery on the removal of the pulpit in 1836 of a square stone, having on its face the raised letters TB. WG. in the first line, IH. TG. IH. in the second line, and WG. 1638 in the last line. It is supposed that this stone, which is now fixed in the wall at the south-west corner of the church, was carved in commemoration of the erection of the tower, and the raised letters are the initials of the churchwardens then in office, and the date when the work was accomplished. Between this stone and the one previously referred to, there is a stained-glass memorial window to “Robert Buck, born