SALFORD HUNDRED 



MANCHESTER 



the tower to the chancel, which were 3 ft. 6 in. thick, 

 and rebuild them of a thickness of 2 ft. so as to obtain 

 more room for seats. Only about half the length of 

 the wall, beginning from the west, was thus dealt with, 

 however ; the walls beyond this point are still the 

 original thickness." 



In 1855 the building underwent a thorough re- 

 storation, in the course of which the outside walls, 

 with the exception of the tower, were cased in stone, 

 new traceried windows inserted, the roof raised over 

 the aisles (north and south galleries), the north and 

 south doors at the west end of the nave done away 

 with and windows substituted, and a large entrance 

 door made through the tower at the west end. By 

 these alterations the building lost any traces that re- 

 mained of its original appearance, and assumed more 

 or less its present aspect. In 1 87 1 a new chancel 

 was added, the north and south galleries taken 

 down,'* and a second door opened out in the tower on 

 the north side ; and in 1895 the south aisle was ex- 

 tended and vestries and an organ chamber built on the 

 south side of the chancel. 



The walls are built of red sandstone and have plain 

 parapets, the buttresses marking the ends of the old 

 nave, the old chancel, and the present chancel being 

 carried up as pinnacles. The chancel roof is slightly 

 lower than that of the nave, and is separated from it 

 externally by a stone gable surmounted by a cross. 

 The nave roof is continued at a slightly lower pitch 

 over the aisles," and all the roofs are slated. A portion 

 of the exterior walling on the south side between the 

 vestry and the extension shows an old rubble facing, 

 having apparently been left untouched in the restora- 

 tion of the last century. 



The chancel has a five-light window at the east end 

 and two windows of two lights on the north. The 

 south side has two pointed arches opening respectively 

 to the organ chamber and vestry. 



The nave consists of six bays, the two easternmost 

 of which formed the 18th-century chancel. These 

 have four-centred arches 1 3 ft. wide on octagonal piers 

 and responds, which appear to be of later date than 

 1770.'* As all the piers, arches, and walling of the 

 nave are stuccoed and painted it is impossible to tell 

 how much of the work belongs to the period of 

 restoration and how much is original. The old 

 chancel walls, however, seem to have been thinned 

 and rebuilt a little in advance of those of the rest of 

 the nave in one of the restorations (probably in 1855). 

 The old nave arcade consists of four semicircular 

 arches 9 ft. wide, resting on circular columns 16 in. 

 in diameter, with square abaci and circular moulded 

 bases, much cut away. The arches and columns have 

 the appearance of 1 8th-century work, but may possi- 

 bly belong to the previous century, and be part of the 



rebuilding of that date." A portion of the old wall 

 3 ft. long behind the east responds of the old nave 

 arcade still stands, and the former chancel arch divides 

 the nave into two unequal parts. The windows to 

 both north and south aisles are all modern, and are 

 placed without regard to the position of the piers. 

 They are mostly of three lights, with a single- 

 light window at the west end of each aisle." The 

 south-west vestry already referred to is built in front 

 of the south doorway, and appears to be modern, 

 never having been intended as a porch. 



The tower is of three stages with a vice in the 

 south-west angle, with diagonal buttresses of unequal 

 projection on the west side. The two entrances on 

 west and north sides are modern, and above the west 

 door is a modern pointed window of four lights, light- 

 ing the ringers' chamber, the floor of which is on a 

 level with the springing of the tower arch. The arch 

 is filled with modern glazed wooden tracery, and 

 below the floor with screen doors. Externally a 

 string-course runs round the tower at about mid- 

 height above the west window, and the belfry stage 

 has a two-light pointed window with stone louvres on 

 each face, above which is a string-course. The original 

 embattled parapet is on the old south vestry, the 

 tower now finishing with a nondescript parapet of 

 four semicircular arches on each side, with angle and 

 intermediate pinnacles, erected in 1 801. There is a 

 clock dial in front of the parapet on the east side 

 facing the village. On the north side of the tower 

 are three stones in a line, the two first inscribed 

 thus : — 



S' E. M. K : FOUN 

 A. M. WID : DERS 



E. M. ESQ : S' G. B. K. 

 PATRON : BARONET 



The inscription on the third stone is partly 

 obliterated . . . ' domni |§,' alone being visible. 



The initials are those of Sir Edward Mosley, kt., 

 and Ann Mosley (Sutton), second wife of his elder 

 and deceased brother Rowland of Hough End Hall, 

 who are called founders. ' E. M. Esq. Patron ' is 

 Edward Mosley, son of Rowland Mosley of 

 Hough End, and afterwards first baronet, and 

 ' Sir G. B. K. Baronet ' is supposed to be Sir 

 George Booth, of Dunham Massey (knighted 1595, 

 baronet 161 1), but this is uncertain." The stones 

 do not appear to be in their original positions, as 

 when Owen visited the church only the first two are 

 described as on the north side, the dated stone being 

 then ' on the east.' The tower is said generally to 

 have been built in i6zo, but more probably an older 

 tower was refaced in stone, as there appear to be traces 

 of older work inside." 



"■ Other work, however, seems to have 

 been done at this time. John Owen writes 

 (Owen MSS. Manch. Ref. Lib. vol. 13) : 

 ' The east end and the greater part of the 

 body of the church is built of brick with 

 the date 1 842.' There is no date to this 

 passage, but Owen's visit was presumably 

 some time before the alterations of 1855. 



'5 The west gallery remained till 1895, 

 when the organ was transferred to its 

 present position. 



W Originally there may have been a low 

 clearstory, but this is not certain. The 

 present roof to the aisles dates from the 

 raising of the outside walls in 1855. 



^ If this work belongs to 1770 the 

 Gothic revival must have penetrated at a 

 very early date to Didsbury. 



" Without a proper examination of 

 them stripped of the coat of stucco, the 

 date of the columns must remain uncer- 

 tain. One of them is said to have been 

 thus stripped during a recent restoration, 

 and found to consist of a single stone to 

 the height of 3 ft. below the abacus — a 

 length of about 8 ft. 9 in. — the total 

 height of the column being a little over 

 12 ft. 



8" The east end of the old north aisle, 

 now the aisle space in the fourth bay, 



295 



was formerly known as the Barlow 

 Chapel, and here is said to have been 

 found a portion of an early piscina during 

 one of the restorations (article in Maneb, 

 Courier, 3 June 1 907), apparently proving 

 the existence of a stone church prior to 

 the 17th century. 



°' Edward Mosley, the patron, would 

 be an infant at the time ; possibly Sir 

 George Booth was his guardian. 



•^ There arc remains of two small 

 round-headed openings on the north and 

 south in the ringing chamber, which do 

 not show outside. 



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