Tucked beside the River Tees, just outside Darlington, there’s a quiet village church with a surprisingly curious claim to fame.
St Peter’s, at Croft‑on‑Tees, is widely believed to have helped inspire one of literature’s most mischievous characters - the grinning Cheshire Cat from Alice In Wonderland.
The link comes through Lewis Carroll, born Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, whose father was rector there from 1843 to 1868.
Carroll spent much of his childhood in Croft, worshipping at St Peter’s and wandering the church and churchyard that still feel remarkably unchanged today.
Inside the 12th‑century, Grade I‑listed building, visitors can find an intriguing stone effigy carved into the sedilia (the church seating built into the chancel wall), which many believe was his model for the Cheshire Cat’s famously unnerving smile.
Church guides and local historians point out the cat‑like face, frozen in a toothy grin, just a few steps from the organ.
It’s become a quiet pilgrimage spot for Carroll fans from around the world, who drop in to snap photos of the carving and the rector’s tombstone outside.
TripAdvisor reviewers now highlight the “Cheshire Cat” as a must‑see detail, noting that there’s much more to the church than the Wonderland connection alone.
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Parts of the church date back to around 1130, and there are traces of even earlier history here, from a Roman‑era carving to an Anglo‑Saxon cross shaft.
The building was extended in the 14th century, and its tower, added in 1399, still dominates the village skyline.
Inside, there is a memorial to Canadian airmen who flew Lancaster bombers from nearby Croft airfield in the Second World War, adding a poignant modern layer to the story.
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