A church was certainly in existence in Eccleston in 1188, and in the late 18th century a print was made of a dilapidated medieval church which dates back to the 14th century. It stands some 100 metres (330 ft) southwest of the site occupied by its predecessors, which stood in what is known today as the Old Churchyard. The present building is the third parish church to have been built in Eccleston. The new church was consecrated on Ascension Day 1900. It was built between 18 to a design by G. F. Bodley for the 1st Duke of Westminster at a cost of £40,000 (£4.79 million today).
St Mary's Church as it appears today is a red sandstone building which dates from the 19th century. The Dukes of Westminster are buried in the adjacent Old Churchyard. Its benefice is combined with that of St Mary, Pulford. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of Chester. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building. St Mary's Church is in the village of Eccleston, Cheshire, England, on the estate of the Duke of Westminster south of Chester.
