St Michael and All Angels' Church, Ashton-under-Lyne

St Michael and All Angels’ Church stands in the centre of Ashton-under-Lyne, a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester. The building is a Grade I listed Anglican parish church and has occupied the site since at least 1262. A church on this spot was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. The present structure is mainly the result of 19th-century rebuilding, though parts of earlier centuries remain. It continues to serve as an active place of worship today. The church’s tower was rebuilt in the late 19th century by J. S. Crowther. The church is worth visiting for its medieval stained glass, one of the most important collections in north-west England. These windows were given between 1497 and 1512 by Sir Thomas Assheton and depict the life of St Helen in twenty panels. The Assheton family also appear as donors in the glass. Other notable features include box pews arranged around a three-decker pulpit and three fonts, two of Victorian date and one from the 18th century. The north porch serves as a First World War memorial designed by R. B. Preston and R. Martin in 1921. Inside, the church contains monuments such as that to John Postlethwaite, which includes Masonic symbols, and the Stamford family pew of 1841. The south porch closely follows a 1765 design, while the north vestry was once a chantry chapel. The two-storey galleries rest on cast-iron columns and may date from the 18th century. Outside, the tower built in 1886–88 was modelled on Manchester Cathedral.