Misplaced Pages

Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin, Bury
Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin, Bury
Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin, BuryLocation in Greater Manchester
53°35′38″N 2°17′50″W / 53.5940°N 2.2971°W / 53.5940; -2.2971
OS grid reference	SD 80433 10863
Location	The Rock, Bury, Greater Manchester
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Website	Bury Parish Church
History
Status	Parish church
Founded	971 CE
Dedication	Virgin Mary
Consecrated	Candlemas 1876
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade I
Designated	13 July 2006
Architect(s)	J. S. Crowther (1870 rebuild)
Architectural type	Church
Completed	1876
Specifications
Length	141 feet (43.0 m)
Nave width	30 feet (9.1 m)
Height	76 feet (23.2 m)
Materials	Dressed stone exterior partially lined in brick Slate roof
Bells	Eight
Administration
Province	York
Diocese	Manchester
Archdeaconry	Bolton
Deanery	Bury
Clergy
Rector	Revd. Julian Heaton
Curate(s)	Samuel Eccleston; Sheila Beattie; Craig Giles.
Laity
Director of music	Marc Murray
Organist(s)	Elin Rees

The Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin is located at the highest point in the town centre of Bury, Greater Manchester, England. It is situated on the edge of the town centre. The main body of the church was completed on 2 February 1876, the steeple predates it to 1842. It is designated in the National Heritage List for England as a Grade I listed building.

History

Church records suggest that the first church was built on the site in 971 A.D. when parishes were first formed by Edgar, King of England, although this is likely to have been a wood and thatch structure. Churches of this type of construction are thought to have been used until a church in the gothic style was completed in 1585. Between 1773 and 1780 the main body of this church was demolished and rebuilt leaving only the spire from the original church. The spire was replaced in 1842 but by 1870 the wood in the rest of the church had rotted and a new building was needed. The new church designed by the architect J. S. Crowther, leaving the 1842 spire in place, was officially opened on Candlemas Day 1876.

In July 2013, the church was the scene of a military funeral for murdered British soldier Lee Rigby. The service was attended by thousands of mourners, including Prime Minister David Cameron.

The church is a regimental church of the Lancashire Fusiliers and the Regimental Colours hang in the nave. A former garrison church, services are held for the garrison on Remembrance Sunday, Gallipoli Sunday and on other occasions.

Architecture

The building is of dressed stone with slate roofs, with a buttressed 3-stage tower with a spire. The interior features a hammerbeam and tie-beam roof and mosaic flooring. There is stained glass by Hardman and Clayton and Bell.

The clock in the tower was the gift of Henry Whitehead, a former High Sheriff of Lancashire.

See also

• Listed buildings in Bury
• List of churches in Greater Manchester
• List of works by J. S. Crowther

References

1. ^ Historic England. "Parish Church of St Mary, Bury (1067236)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 20 December 2011.
2. "The History of Bury Parish Church". buryparishchurch.com. Bury Parish Church. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
3. "Lee Rigby: Military funeral for killed soldier". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. 12 July 2013. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
4. "Bury St Mary the Virgin | National Churches Trust".
5. "First World War military campaign set to be remembered in Bury once again". 23 April 2024.
6. "John Whitehead's Penwortham Pictures". www.prestonhistoricalsociety.org.uk. Archived from the original on 3 January 2019. Retrieved 12 October 2021.

External links

• Home page of the Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin, Bury

v t e Buildings and structures in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, England
Buildings	Art Museum Bury Town Hall Castle Armoury Derby Hall Old White Lion Transport Museum Peel Monument Pilot Mill Radcliffe Tower
Places of worship	All Saints' Church, Stand Besses United Reformed Church Christ Church, Walshaw Holy Trinity Church St Margaret's Church, Prestwich St Marie's Church, Bury St Mary, Radcliffe Church of St Mary the Virgin, Bury Church of St Mary the Virgin, Prestwich St Paul's Church
Education	Broad Oak High School Bury Church of England High School Bury College Bury Grammar School Bury Grammar School (Girls) Derby High School Elton High School Holy Cross College St Gabriel's Roman Catholic High School
Transportation	Bury Interchange Bolton Street railway station Knowsley Street railway station
Shopping complexes	Bury Market
Sport and entertainment	Bury Cricket Club Gigg Lane The Met
Others	Fusilier Museum Lancashire Fusiliers War Memorial Peel Memorial
Demolished	Bury Castle Wilton Mill, Radcliffe
Lists	List of schools in Bury List of mills in Bury
Listed buildings in	Bury Prestwich Radcliffe Ramsbottom Tottington Whitefield

• Church of England church buildings in Greater Manchester
• Anglican Diocese of Manchester
• Buildings and structures in Bury, Greater Manchester