Churches of Greater Manchester

Manchester has always been an important centre in northwest England but during the Industrial Revolution its population exploded as it became the heart of textile manufacturing in the area. The new city was largely unplanned but in time it became second in importance in the country only to London, and the massive influx of wealth created a building boom that included religious buildings for its rapidly growing population. Today, Greater Manchester has expanded to include surrounding settlements such as Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale and Wigan.

Churches of Greater Manchester reveals the variety of historic church buildings in the area and their significance, not only from the Victorian period but earlier and later eras too. These unique buildings have held the cultural memory of their locality for centuries, and the book includes not only the Anglican buildings of the area but also Roman Catholic and non-denominational chapels who were all vying for congregations in the industrial centres of the North of England in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. All the churches in this book have special architectural, artistic, or historic and social interest. This fascinating picture of an important part of the history of Greater Manchester over the centuries will be of interest to all those who live in or are visiting this metropolis.