ln 1538 Henry VIII ordered all parishes to compile records of births, marriages and deaths, having heard of such requirements in Holland (which was then ruled by Spain). Queen Elizabeth I subsequently enacted that such records be properly stored. Not many records goingback to 1538 survive. Eastham’s go back to 1598 and are preserved inCheshire and Chester Archives — but are undecipherable to the untrained eye today. These records of "Christings, Weddings andBuriaIls", say that Margrett Barker was christened in 1598 or, as the Latin script says, "Margrett Barker filia Radulphi Barker, baptisat. xxx Martij". The registers and other early documents were kept in the great chest in the south aisle until recently. (A field in Eastham was named Barker’s Hill).
The GentIeman’s Magazine of 1761 reported that there was no chapel in the parish nor any meeting house (presumably meaning no Methodist or Quaker places of worship), the inhabitants being of theestablished Church, "except a few Papists who go to mass at Hooton". lt also said that the locals were "a robust hardy race of people and many of the poorer live chiefly on barley—bread and potatoes and buttermilk. The concourse of passengers to Liverpool occasioned by the great increase of trade in that town affords an opportunity to get some money for the hire of horses, which they furnish at very easy rates".
Much of the church has been rebuilt at various times, the biggest changes being in the Victorian era. The main body of the Church was rebuilt in 1574 and part of the tower in 1752. In 1854 the Church was re-roofed and a new clerestory (upper tier of windows) added. (It is recorded that on 26 October 1855 the churchwardens paid three pounds and ten shillings (about 2180.00 at 2006 values) for 4,000 bricks.) In 1862, the chancel was restored and a new south wall built. In 1877, much of the rest of the building was restored including the north wall. More work on the roof was done at this time. The floor was lowered by about 30 cms (a foot), exposing again the bases of the pillars. In 1874, a new communion rail, a new desk and a new pulpit were installed, paid for by donations from parishioners. In 1881-2, a new organ chamber was installed and all remaining whitewash, which covered earlier coloured pictures on the walls, removed. A new vestry was built in 1912. In 2003, a small extension was built to house a toilet at a cost of £75,000, replacing the former lamp room, funds coming from the Heritage Lottery Fund and donations by parishioners.
Church interiors have changed much. In most medieval churches, only the chancel contained seats. The chancel is the area leading up to the altar where the priest offers bread and wine as the body and blood of Jesus. In the 1600s and 1700s, a gallery of seating existed at the west end of St Mary’s. At other times, there was a musicians’ gallery at the back and also box pews. The latter were seats with panels at the back and at the sides to block the gaze of others. These were reserved for richer parishioners who paid for their use. By the 1850s, many of the box pews had become dirty and mouldy. In 1874, new oak pews, the same for everybody, were installed. There is still a faded notice on one of the present pews saying that it is free and "unappropriated".
While the chancel continues to be reserved for worship, the vicar of St Mary’s, in common with many others vicars, is making fuller use of the body of the church for community activities as well as it continuing to be used for services and private prayer. One section of pews at the back of the north aisle has been taken out to make space for a crèche and for small meetings.
