St Michael's Church, Flixton, is an Anglican

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

in Flixton, Greater Manchester dedicated to

Michael the Archangel Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...

. It lies in the parish of Flixton (which originally encompassed the parish of

Urmston Urmston is a town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, which had a population of 41,825 at the 2011 Census. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it is southwest of Manchester city centre. The southern boundary is the ...

), in the Anglican Diocese of Manchester (previously in the

Diocese of Lichfield The Diocese of Lichfield is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury, England. The bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Chad in the city of Lichfield. The diocese covers of seve ...

for 500 years).

History

Little is known of the origins of when this site was first used for worship, it is presumed that people have been worshipping here since before the Norman invasion of 1066, however there is little structural evidence of this, however some believe the church to be actually founded in 1198. The Church of St Michael's is in the Parish of Flixton.

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

Flixton was one of several parishes which existed in the Hundred of Salford. The parish encompassed the manors of Urmston and Flixton; the latter is first mentioned between 1189 and 1181 and was granted by the Mascy family of Dunham. There is a place of worship for

Wesleyans Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

. Flixton has been recorded as ''Fluxton, Flaxtown, Flyxton, Flyxeton'', and ''Flixtone'', amongst other spellings. It has been suggested that Flixton derives its name from "''Fleecetown''" because of its 14th-century connection with the woolen industry. Flixton first appears in historical records in 1177 however, making that toponymy seem unlikely. The name is more probably of Scandinavian origin, perhaps deriving from the

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

called ''Flikke'' or ''Flikkr'' who is credited with bringing

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

to the area and constructing the original sanctuary end stone wall behind the altar,(however there are differing exact theories to this). The Anglo-Saxon ton means dwelling place, hence ''Flikke's ton''. The manor of Flixton's boundaries are unclear, although they were perhaps formed by a mixture of natural and man-made features including Carr Ditch, which divided Flixton and

. St Michael's Church is also first recorded at about the same time. In keeping with a pattern found in northern and eastern Cheshire and south-eastern Lancashire, the parish comprised isolated farmsteads and a medieval

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

, rather than a village centre. As the population of Flixton grew throughout the 19th and 20th century, a new church St. John's was constructed in the mid 20th century to serve as a "mission-church". Flixton is in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

Diocese of Manchester and the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

Diocese of Salford. Historically church life has centred around the Grade II* listed 12th-century church, built on raised land close to the centre of Flixton village. For about 500 years the church was attached to

Lichfield Cathedral Lichfield Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Lichfield, Staffordshire, England, one of only three cathedrals in the United Kingdom with three spires (together with Truro Cathedral and St Mary's Cathedral in Edinburgh), and the only medie ...

. Another Church of England place of worship, St John's Church, can be found on Irlam Road. Flixton's Catholic Community worships at St Monica's Church on Woodsend Road South. The parish was founded in 1950 and the church built from 1968 to 1969.

Church building

The church is in a predominantly

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

in its architectural-contextual style. In 1888 the tower which now stands was completely rebuilt on the foundations of a previous 18th century one.

Interior

'The present structure retains so little ancient work that little or nothing can be said of the development of the plan. Two fragments of what appear to be 12th-century stones with lozenge ornament are built into the east wall on the outside, but apart from these the oldest work in the building is contained in the chancel, which, in something of its present form, dates from the 15th century. It has been so much rebuilt, however, that little or nothing of the original work remains except in the reconstructed walling, the lower part of which appears to be old or entirely rebuilt of ancient masonry.'-(''Farrer and Brownbill, 1911'') St Michael's church tower is home to a ring of eight bells. The bells at St Michael's are still rung every week for church services and the bell ringers practise every Tuesday night. In 1808 the four bells were recast and four more added. They were recast again in 1938. The tenor bells weighs and is tuned to F (706.0 Hz). The bells are still rung today. And there has been a robed choir in existence at St Michael's since the 1870s.

Churchyard

The earliest stone dates from 1669, though there are records of burials before that. There are simple verses on many of the flat-stones, e.g. the Fiddler's grave near the vestry door. The verse on the Blacksmith's grave, William Oldfield, east of the vestry, is attributed to the Lancashire poet Tim Bobbin, who was baptised in this church.

Vicar

The vicar incumbent of the parish is The Reverend Huw Thomas, who replaced the previous vicar, the Reverend Dr. Victoria Johnson (the current Residentiary Canon of Ely Cathedral ) in 2016. There has been a resident curate/ rector in the parish since before the 16th century.

Parish groups

The parish runs numerous groups for the community to participate in: * Bell ringers * The Choir * The Churchyard gardening team * Mother's union

Restoration and Development Trust

There is a paying restoration and development trust at the church, it describes itself as having "... two main purposes. Firstly it is dedicated to maintaining and developing the fabric of the church both inside and out. This remit extends to Church Croft, a property adjacent to St Michaels, purchased by the Parochial Church Council, and where most Parish activities take place. Secondly the Trust contributes to the spiritual growth of the St. Michael."

Gallery

File:Church of St Michael, Flixton, Greater Manchester.JPG, The view of the church from the side. File:St michaels church flixton interior 2.jpg, The sanctuary end with altar and antependium. File:St michaels church flixton interior.jpg, The central nave of the church looking down to the sanctuary end. File:Radclyff brass in st michaels church, flixton, flattened.jpg, The Radclyff brass File:St michaels church graveyard flixton manchester.jpg, The Graveyard and churchyard File:St. Michaels Church and the Church Inn - geograph.org.uk - 1345461.jpg, The church next to the ''Church Inn'' pub File:St Michaels Flixton Manchester.jpg, The church and carpark

References

Bibliography

* Langton, D. H. (1991)

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''A History of the Parish of Flixton'', Trafford Metropolitan Borough, * 'The parish of Flixton', in A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 5, ed. William Farrer and J Brownbill (London, 1911), pp. 42–45.
The Story of Urmston, Flixton and Davyhulme: A New History of the Three Townships: Michael Billington
* *

External links

* * * *
Google Books

Photographic Credits-

As appreciated to : * Dave Newton- St. Michaels Church and graveyard - geograph.org.uk - 1345486.jpg * Dave Smethurst - St Michaels Flixton Manchester.jpg * Photos Via: Tom Jeffs @ Parrot of Doom- Rest of Images {{DEFAULTSORT:Flixton, Saint Michael Churches in Trafford Church of England church buildings in Greater Manchester Grade II* listed churches in Greater Manchester Anglican Diocese of Manchester