Churches of Greater Manchester

Manchester has always been an important centre in north-west 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 the second most important in the country after 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. This book includes not only the Anglican buildings of the area but also Roman Catholic and non-denominational chapels that were all vying for congregations in the industrial centres of the north of England in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This fascinating picture of an important part of the history of Greater Manchester will be of interest to all those who live in or are visiting this metropolis.