They used to say that a Church of England parson in his pulpit 'stood six feet above contradiction'. Now photographer Gary Beal assumes the same heights with his high rise pictures which he describes as 'aerial photography without leaving the ground'. And there is no place more perfect to perfect his technique than in the archetypical Cheshire village of Wrenbury.

Photographer Gary took the Wrenbury pictures from 35 feet in the air. The Hale based photographer was in position at the bottom of a 50ft mast, directing the camera in the sky above him by remote control. The specially commissioned equipment can be rigged up anywhere with a ten foot circumference, the space required for the tripod at the base of the mast.

From Wrenbury Hall to St Margaret's Church and from the post office to Wrenbury Mill, this is a village of huge photographic potential.

Wrenbury also has its village website. It is designed to be a 'one stop shop' for all you need to know about this delightful part of Cheshire, whether you are a visitor to the area or have lived here all your life. This site is operated as a voluntary community activity.

Inclusion in the site is free of charge. Please note that the original website address of www.wrenbury village.co.uk has now been discontinued altogether, and the site will now be available only at this address, www.wrenbury.info.

And Gary's photographs give a new view of the village which we have previously described in the pages of Cheshire Life.

St Margaret's parish church overlooking the green is made from warm red Cheshire sandstone, quarried from Bickerton Hill. The green is still the focal point of the village, which is mentioned in the Domesday Book.There are competing theories as to the origins of the village name, but the most likely is that it means 'the wren's stronghold', perhaps from some old fortification haunted by a wren.

It is famous for its musician's gallery and its 17th century box pews, including the Whipper's Pew by the church door, where the dog whipper sat, who kept order in church. The chiming of the church clock is a familiar sound to residents, although campers behind the Cotton Arms sometimes complain. A new page in the history of the church was written in 2003, when its first female vicar arrived, Rev Jane Parry.

Near the church are the General Stores and Post Office. The village has a busy social life, with a British Legion, an arts group, youth club, cubs, beavers, scouts, rainbows, brownies and guides, a playgroup, nursery, groups for mothers and toddlers and even tiddlers. Many use the village hall in the centre of Wrenbury.

A slightly grander hall can be found just north of the village. Wrenbury Hall once belonged to the Starkey family, local rivals to the Cottons, but was sold to Cheshire County Council in 1920 before returning to private ownership in 1982, when Anne and Dennis ]ones bought the hall, parts of which date from the 1600s, although most of the building is Elizabethan style late 19th and early 20th century architecture. The hall is licensed for civil ceremonies, and becomes home for a day to the happy couples, some of whom arrive by helicopter.