Carpet of Snowdrops at St. Mary’s Coddington

Join me on my annual snowdrops visit to the beautiful St. Mary’s church in Cheshire.

It’s in a small hamlet called Coddington, which is just 10 miles from the city of Chester, and only one mile from the the country hotel and golf course ‘Carden Park’.

History

The parish of Coddington is recorded in the Doomsday book, and the quaint little church is grade II listed.

The original church on the site was built between the 8th and 10th Century. With the current church being started in March 1833.

The foundation stone was laid by Hugh Robert Aldersey, who was just a child at the time – the Aldersey’s’ are a local land owning family.

The church was finally completed and consecrated by the Bishop of Chester on 10th February 1834. It was built using local stone from the Cheshire’s central sandstone ridge, composed of layers of Triassic sandstone laid down more than 225 million years ago. So pretty old!

You may have heard of the popular walk called the sandstone trail. It runs from Frodsham through to Whitchurch, all along the sandstone ridge and passes very close to Coddington.

Churchyard

The churchyard is simply a carpet of snowdrops at this time of year, so it is one of my annual pilgrimages. Sometime during February, I wait for a bright day and set off down the rather narrow road that leads to the little church

It’s such a peaceful rural spot, except for the odd tractor passing by!

I’ve always found churchyards calming places to visit, with so much atmosphere. There really is nothing better to do on a sunny winters day than wander around this ancient site. The flowers look so delicate weaving through the gravestones.

It seems a perfect juxtaposition of death surrounded by new life, and makes me feels optimistic.

My Snowdrops

I do have my own ‘Galanthus’ – or as most of us know them – snowdrops growing in the garden, which also fill me with optimistic joy at this time of the year. I always kid myself that once they are in full swing, it must be almost spring!

My snowdrops are mainly down at the bottom of my garden, meaning at this time of year I don’t see much of them. Just fleeting glimpses on my speedy trips down to the compost bins.

Two years ago I decided to transplant some bulbs into a couple of pots. I then planted black grass ‘Ophiopogon planiscapus Nigrescens’ on the top, for all year around interest and I thought the white flowers coming through would look quite good.

They are getting better each year and give me daily pleasure, as I can see them from the house.