Churches. The Maguire Family
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Manchester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Mary, St Denys and St George in Manchester, England, is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Manchester, seat of the bishop and the city's parish church |
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 St Stephens. Founded in 1794. Closed in 1956. The site of St Stephen’s church is a small park between Trinity Way and St Stephens St. |
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 Sacred Trinity, Chapel Street, Salford Central. The oldest church in Salford. Built in 1635 Originally built as a chapel-of-ease.Most of the current building dates from 1752 Sir Humphrey Booth raised the money for the original church. His grandson, also Humphrey Booth, set up a trust to maintain the church and help the ‘poor of Salford’. |
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 St Andrew’s Church, Travis Street, was consecrated in 1831, when the area was still open with fields, rather than houses around. The church itself was built of stone and could seat 2000 people. Its clock tower was a local landmark.The situation changed throughout the second half of the nineteenth century with the industrial development of Manchester, and the building of rows of terraced housing, and soon afterwards factories and workshops. As the nineteenth century progressed, the congregation changed from being a relatively wealthy one to one that represented the poorer elements of the community. Even so, the church had a thriving Sunday school, with an average attendance of 450. An 1877 survey of the parishes of Manchester reported that St Andrew’s was amongst the poorest both in terms of its permanent income, and its weekly collection. The church was finally demolished in 1961 by which time there was hardly anyone living in the parish. |
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 Irwell Street Wesleyan Methodist, SalfordThe Irwell Street Wesleyan Methodist Chapel used to sit on the west side of Irwell Street in Salford close to the corner with chapel Street. It was one of the chapels that formed part of the Manchester and Salford Wesleyan Methodist Mission. It was apparently founded in 1815. |
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 St. Thomas's Church Ardwick. A Grade II Georgian church. The original church was built in 1741, but it was enlarged in 1777 and again in 1831, and the tower was added in 1836. The campanile-style tower is rather out of character with the rest of the building. The church became redundant in 1978 and was later converted into office space. Today it is the St. Thomas' Centre managed by the Greater Manchester Centre for Voluntary Organisation. The Main Hall can accommodate 140 people and there are six other meeting rooms each with a capacity of 30 people. |
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 St Simon, SalfordIt was founded in 1846. It closed in 1926. St Simon, Salford was created as a district church in the year 1845. It was one of approximately ten such district churches built to handle the burgeoning growth of population in that township. It lay within the civil parish boundaries of Manchester St Mary and St Denys (The Cathedral Church). The first stone was laid March 24th, 1845 an ecclesiastical parish was assigned to it, out of [Sacred] Trinity district |
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St Mary's Church, was in medieval times, the centre of a large ecclesiastical parish containing Pendleton, Pendlebury, Clifton, Swinton, Worsley and Barton-upon-Irwell. To the west the parish covered a portion of Chat Moss to the River Glaze and was bounded by the River Irwell to its north and east. The church is of ancient origin and was the only church in the parish for several hundred years. A church has occupied its site since Norman times, and probably before then. The church contains few remains of its earliest incarnation, but the tower base and west end of the north aisle are from the 13th century. The 14th century structure was enlarged in the 15th century and the chancel was reconstructed in the 16th century and rebuilt in 1862 by J P Holden. |
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St Leonard’s Church
Saxons and Normans The earliest Middleton church was dedicated to the Saint Cuthbert “whose mortal remains were carried to Middleton-juxta-Manchester” around 880 to escape destruction by pagan Danes then attacking the north of England. It is curious to think that we can still see the decorated coffin of this wonderful Saxon saint and the marvellous Lindisfarne gospels that accompanied it. Now they lie in scientifically controlled environments at Durham Cathedral and the British Library but a thousand years ago they rested quietly and safely in this modest place. Middleton’s oval-shaped churchyard was laid out at this time; with plenty of space around the then tiny Saxon church. A tangible memorial to the period in the church is a beautifully carved rectangular stone, probably a late Saxon grave stone. After the Conquest of 1066, the Normans built a larger church dedicated to the French Saint Leonard, patron saint of prisoners. In this building, a young Thomas Langley, Middleton’s greatest son, received his religious nurturing and education some 300 years later. |
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St Mary's Church
St Leonard’s Church is a Grade I listed building richly blessed with historic features, from the Saxons to the twentieth century; each era adding its mark. The BBC considered the church had the strongest case for the oldest continually inhabited building in the Manchester area. The following is an outline of the history of the church and a summary of its fittings, furniture and monuments that can be seen today.
