The Parish Church of

St Margaret Saint Margaret, St. Margarets, or St. Margaret's may refer to: People In chronological order: * Saint Margaret the Virgin of Antioch (died 304) * Saint Margaret of Scotland (c. 1045–1093) * Saint Margaret of England (died 1192) * Saint Margaret ...

is a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

parish church situated on St Margaret's Road, off Bury Old Road (A665) in

Prestwich Prestwich ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England, north of Manchester, north of Salford and south of Bury. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, Prestwich was the seat of the ...

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

church, in the Diocese of Manchester, was designed in the

Decorated style English Gothic is an architectural style that flourished from the late 12th until the mid-17th century. The style was most prominently used in the construction of cathedrals and churches. Gothic architecture's defining features are pointed a ...

by the Manchester architects Travis and Mangnall in 1849 as a chapel-of-ease to the ancient Prestwich Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin. Opened in 1851, it was extended in 1863, 1871, 1884, 1888 and 1899, and is notable for its fine

Arts and Crafts The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the Decorative arts, decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and ...

wood carvings by Arthur Simpson of Kendal and late twentieth-century fittings. The church's daughter church of

St George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the R ...

, Simister, is in the same parish.

History

Foundation

In the early years of Queen Victoria's reign, the population of Prestwich was growing at an unprecedented rate, having risen from 470 in 1714 to 5,152 by 1849. The site of St Margaret's was given by the 2nd Earl of Wilton, the first of many gifts the Earl was to make to the young church over the latter half of the century. In 1884 the great west window, depicting the Parable of the

Good Samaritan In most contexts, the concept of good denotes the conduct that should be preferred when posed with a choice between possible actions. Good is generally considered to be the opposite of evil. The specific meaning and etymology of the term and its ...

was erected by the parishioners to his memory. The name of the new church was chosen after the rejection of the original suggestion of St Thomas (arising from a desire to pay a compliment to Thomas, Earl of Wilton). Eventually the dedication of St Margaret of Antioch, Virgin Martyr was selected. At one time, there had been a chantry in Prestwich Parish Church dedicated to St Margaret the Virgin. The foundation stone was laid by the

Duchess of Cambridge Duke of Cambridge is a hereditary title of nobility in the British royal family, one of several royal dukedoms in the United Kingdom. The title is named after the city of Cambridge in England. It is heritable by male descendants by primogeni ...

in the presence of many dignitaries on 3 October 1849, following a preliminary service at the Prestwich Parish Church, documented by extensive newspaper reports. The church was opened for Divine Service on 26 October 1851 and consecrated on 18 March 1852. St Margaret's was a

Commissioners' church A Commissioners' church, also known as a Waterloo church and Million Act church, is an Anglicanism, Anglican church in England or Wales built with money voted by Parliament of the United Kingdom, Parliament as a result of the (58 Geo. 3. ...

costing about £2,000 () to build, towards which the Church Building Commission gave a grant of £200.

A new parish

In 1875, parishioners affiliated to St Margaret's presented a petition to the Bishop to request that the church be licensed for marriages, and a licence for Holy Matrimony was duly granted. After extensions in 1863 and 1871, a new organ was added in 1884, and the organ chamber enlarged to accommodate it. At the same time a new porch was built. In 1885 St Margaret's achieved the dignity of a separate parish, under an Order in Council issued by

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

on 19 May. The Curate-in-Charge, the Revd. Stanley Swinburne, was inducted and installed as the first Vicar. In 1888, another vestry was added, this being for the use of the choir. In 1899, the church achieved its current size with a significant extension in commemoration of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. In the same year, Mr Benjamin Carver, another great benefactor of the church and its first Vicar's Warden, presented the church with the plot of land lying between it and Bury Old Road to the west, which he later opened as the St Margaret's Church Gardens. A memorial cross now stands in the gardens to commemorate his generosity.

Arthur Simpson

In 1899 Edward Holt, of the

Holt family Holt or holte may refer to: Natural world *Holt (den), an otter den * Holt, an area of woodland Places Australia * Holt, Australian Capital Territory * Division of Holt, an electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives in V ...

of brewers, began the process of enriching St Margaret's with beautiful carved oak work by the Kendal craftsman, Arthur Simpson, with a gift of new choir stalls designed by Dan Gibson. Over the following 21 years, the church was enhanced with a new high

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

, reredos, panelling, bishop's throne,

rood screen The rood screen (also choir screen, chancel screen, or jubé) is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, o ...

, war memorial and other items, largely designed by Gibson and made by Simpson. This outstanding

work, believed to be the best example of Simpson's ecclesiastical work, creates a superb liturgical setting.

Twentieth century

In 1900 the population of Prestwich was 12,839, and the increased population required further burial space. This was acquired in 1909, when land on the opposite side of St Margaret's Road from the church was purchased from the Rector of Prestwich and consecrated. It is now known as the New Churchyard. In 1910, the Church House was built opposite the church, and was dedicated by the Rector of Prestwich and opened by Mr Carver on 12 November that year. It was extended in the 1950s, and the interior was significantly altered in 2005. It continues to be used for parochial purposes. In order to care better for the Simister end of the parish, a new church was designed by R. Basnett Preston in a combination of Romanesque and vernacular revival styles and built in 1915 on a site given by the V

Earl of Wilton Earl of Wilton, of Wilton Castle in the County of Herefordshire, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1801 for Thomas Egerton, 1st Earl of Wilton, Thomas Egerton, 1st Baron Grey de Wilton, along with the subsidiary ...

in Nutt Lane, Simister. Built as a chapel-of-ease to St Margaret's and dedicated to St George the Martyr, it has the distinction of being the only church in the Diocese of Manchester begun and completed during the

Great War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, and has altered little since. In March 1932, the Revd. T. R. Musgrave was inducted as fourth vicar of St Margaret's. He significantly altered the style of worship at St Margaret's, created a Children's Corner in the south aisle in 1932, and in Advent 1936 added a second Altar in the north aisle for use at the daily services. The Chapel was dedicated to the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

. In 1951 St Margaret's celebrated its centenary with a year of festivities and special observances. In 1960 the south-west porch, built in 1899, was converted into a columbarium for the interment of the cremated remains of the dead. Subsequently, two Garden of Remembrance were added to the Churchyard: at the west end of the church in the 1990s, and at the east end in 2007. In the 1960s, changing liturgical ideas in the wake of the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

and the

Liturgical Movement The Liturgical Movement was a 19th-century and 20th-century movement of scholarship for the reform of worship. It began in the Catholic Church and spread to many other Christian churches including the Anglican Communion, Lutheran and some other Pro ...

prompted alterations in the church's worshipping life, such as the combination of the Sung Eucharist and Sung Matins on Sunday mornings. In the late 1960s, provision for the young people of the parish was substantially improved by the building of a new Youth Centre and a Scout and Guide Headquarters. In 2005, these were replaced by a two-storey Youth and Community Centre on the same site.

Restoration

In February 1985 the church was damaged by arson, when the 1884 Foster and Andrews organ, the Lady Chapel and a number of other fittings were completely destroyed. The ensuing restoration, by E. G. Thorne, included the complete renewal of even those parts of the building which had not been directly affected by the fire. At the same time, changes in liturgical worship made it convenient to move the High Altar from the east end to a new bay in the chancel, and remove the old chancel screen to the west end of the church, where it lent greater dignity to a new baptistery area, created in a more central location with a new marble font at its centre. During the eighteen months during which the church was completely out of action, the congregation used the Church House for worship. The church was rehallowed by Bishop

Stanley Booth-Clibborn Stanley Eric Francis Booth-Clibborn (20 October 1924 – 6 March 1996) was a British Anglican bishop in the late 20th century. He was Bishop of Manchester from 1979 to 1992. He was well known during his episcopal ministry for his outspoken polit ...

on 8 September 1986. In 1993, the old

vicarage A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or Minister (Christianity), ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of n ...

was sold and replaced with a newer, smaller building erected on part of the former garden. The process of restoration included the commissioning of contemporary artworks. In 1986 the Ilkley artist Graeme Willson painted a great ''Crucifixion'' suspended over the nave altar, followed in 1994 by the ''Madonna of the Passion'' in the Lady Chapel and a chalice and host on the aumbry door. In 1998, Willson designed a font cover, carved in Dick Reid's York workshop, and in 2004 an embroidered banner depicting the church's patron saint. A vertical memorial beam carved by Charles Gurrey of York, bearing in red lettering the words "I am among you as one who serves", was added near the columbarium in 2010. New vestments have been commissioned from Philip Manser and Richard Luzar. The organ was installed in 1986 by Nicholson & Co. Parts are from an earlier organ built in 1891 by Harrison of Durham for Hick Lane Wesleyan Chapel in Batley, sold to Prestwich Hospital chapel in 1956. The inaugural recital was given by Dr Allan Wicks, of Canterbury Cathedral, in 1987. In 2010 the organ was renovated, and the Choir Division extended, by A. J. Carter of Wakefield. In 2001-2 the church celebrated its sesquicentenary.

Churchyard

The Churchyard Extension contains the

war graves A war grave is a burial place for members of the armed forces or civilians who died during military campaigns or operations. Definition The term "war grave" does not only apply to graves: ships sunk during wartime are often considered to b ...

of 27 service personnel, 11 of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and 16 of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Vicars of St Margaret's Prestwich

Prior to 1885, the church was cared for a number of Curates-in-Charge, the last of whom, appointed in 1871, became the first vicar upon the creation of the parish. :1885 — 1892 The Revd Stanley Swinburne :1892 — 1926 The Revd Joseph Herbert Kidson :1927 — 1932 The Revd George Stephen Osborn :1932 — 1939 The Revd Thomas Randolph Musgrave :1939 — 1959 The Revd Cecil Rhodes Ball :1960 — 1982 The Revd Canon David Nigel Astley Clegg :1983 — 2006 The Revd Martin Ashworth :2007 — 2014 The Revd Canon Deborah A. Plummer (priest-in-charge) :2015 — 2022 The Revd Deborah Sandercock-Pickles (priest-in-charge) The seventh vicar, the Revd Martin Ashworth, retired on 31 July 2006. In September 2006 the

Bishop of Manchester The Bishop of Manchester is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Anglican Diocese of Manchester, Diocese of Manchester in the Province of York.) The current bishop is David Walker (Bishop of Manchester), David Walker who w ...

suspended the patron's right of presentation to the living. The Revd Deborah Plummer, then associate vicar and lecturer of Bolton Parish Church, was appointed priest-in-charge, and she was licensed to the cure on 9 July 2007.

References

External links

"A Church Near You" pagesThe Diocese of Manchester
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prestwich, St Margaret Church of England church buildings in Greater Manchester Grade II listed churches in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury Churches completed in 1851 19th-century Church of England church buildings Arts and Crafts architecture in England Anglican Diocese of Manchester Commissioners' church buildings 1985 fires 1980s fires in the United Kingdom 1985 disasters in the United Kingdom Building and structure arson attacks in England Religious buildings and structures in the United Kingdom destroyed by arson

Saint Margaret's Church St. Margaret's Church is often used to mean St Margaret's, Westminster, which forms part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site at Westminster, Greater London. It may also refer to: Australia * St. Margaret's Uniting Church, Hackett, Australian Capita ...

1851 establishments in England