St Mary’s Church is the oldest parish church in the town of Stockport in Greater Manchester. It stands in Churchgate overlooking the Stockport marketplace. The church is part of the National Heritage List for England and is a Grade I listed structure to protect its heritage. A church building was on the existing site as early as 1190 but nothing of this original church remains but the oratory (which is currently an annex to the vestry) remains. About 1310 a new church was built and of this later structure only the chancel remains. The current church was built between 1813 and 1817 and it was the design of Lewis Wyatt. Thirty years after it was constructed there was more reconstruction carried out in 1848 to replace weather-beaten stonework. The stone is soft and in those days the pollution mixed with rain was very acidic which caused rapid erosion of the stone The tower originated in the 14th century and this was restored in 1612and also again in 1810
In the church are a number of monoliths, consisting of one dated 1753 by Daniel Sephton in memory of William Wright. Other memorials include one to Sir George Warren who died in 1801 by Sir Richard Westmacott depicting a standing woman by an urn on a column, another to Rev Charles Prescott that died in 1820, also dedicated by Westmacott, showing a seated effigy, another to James Antrobus Newton who died in 1823 dedicated by Bacon junior and S. Manning showing several stooping women, and to Mrs Hawall who died in 1852 dedicated by the Latham family of Manchester showing angels floating over her body. On the chancel arc are the coat of arms of George III in plaster. The church documents start in 1584. There are 10 church bells. Seven of these were cast by John Rudhall in 1817 and the other three by John Taylor & Carbon in 1897
A rectory was developed for the church in 1744 to replace an earlier timber-framed building of 16th-century origin. It was the vicarage , and later on the residence of diocesans of Stockport, up until the 1950s.
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