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Church of St Michael and All Angels [1]. |
St Peter's Church [2]. |
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Albion United Reformed Church [3]. |
Christ Church [4]. |
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| Church of St John the Evangelist [5]. | |
The Parish Church of St Michael and All Angels
This church is situated on Stamford St and it dates from C15. However, it was practically rebuilt in the Gothic Revival style (mainly Perpendicular) during the C19 and early C20.
The north side was rebuilt in 1821, the nave and south side in 1840/44, the east wall of the chancel in 1883, the tower in 1882/88 and the north porch in c.1920.
The architect for the rebuild of the tower was Joseph Stretch Crowther of Manchester.
The church is listed Grade I, List Enry No. 1162800.
Stained glass windows
These windows date from the late C15 and early C16 and they are now positioned along the aisles. They depict the life of St Helena, three saintly kings and members of the Assheton family.
The saintly kings have been identified as Edmund the Martyr (King of East Anglia), Edward the Confessor (King of England) and, tentatively, Henry VI (King of England).
Henry VI is informally regarded as a saint and martyr because miracles were attributed to him.
The three Lancastrian kings of England were Henry IV, Henry V, and Henry VI, who ruled England from 1399 until 1471.

St Helena (c.247-c.330) was the wife of the Roman Emperor, Constantius Chlorus, and the mother of Constantine the Great (c.272-337). It is believed that she was born at Drepanum (later known as Helenopolis) in Asia Minor (Tukey). Later, her husband divorced her but when her son became emperor at Eboracum (York) in 306, he made her the empress dowager. It was her son who persuaded her to become a Christian.
St Peter's Church
This church is situated on Manchester Rd and the building is Gothic Revival in style erected in 1821/24 to a design by Francis Goodwin of London for the Church Commissioners.
The church was consecrated on the 12 Dec 1824. The stained-glass windows were by Betton & Evans (John & David) of Shrewsbury.
The church is listed Grade II*, List Enry No. 1067994.
Albion United Reformed Church
This church is situated on Stamford Street East and it was originally known as Albion Congregational Church.
The building is Gothic Revival in style erected in 1890/95 to a design by the architect John Brooke of Manchester.
The stained-glass windows were designed by Sir Edward Burne-Jones and made by Morris & Co of London.
The organ was built by Lewis & Co (Thomas Christopher Lewis) of Brixton, South London.
The church is listed Grade II* under the name, Albion Congregational Church, List Enry No. 1356460.

The east window is a memorial to Hugh Mason (1817-1886) who was a local cotton mill owner, social reformer and Liberal politician.
Christ Church
This church is situated on Taunton Rd/Oldham Rd in the Charlestown district of Ashton-under-Lyne.
It was built in 1846-48 in the Gothic Revival style for the Church Commissioners and the architects were Dickson & Brakspear (Thomas & William Hayward) of Manchester.
It is built of English bond brick with stone dressings and a slate roof.
The church was consecrated on the 17 Jun 1848 by the Rt Revd James Prince Lee, the first Bishop of Manchester.
Repairs to the building were made in 1858-60 and the architect was John Eaton Sr of Ashton-under-Lyne.
John Eaton Sr (27 Jun 1810-21 Apr 1876) was born in the City of Brechin, Forfarshire, Scotland, and in 1839 he moved to Ashton-under-Lyne with his wife, Mary, and family. He was a loyal churchman, being one of the subscribers to Christ Church when it was built. Together with his wife and three unmarried daughters, he is buried at Christ Church, where one of the few remaining stone memorial crosses marks the location of the grave. The family is also commemorated by two stained-glass windows in the north transept of the church given in 1914 by his two surviving daughters, Georgina and Margaret Marjorie.
The church is listed Grade II, List Entry No. 1162769.
Church of St John the Evangelist
This Anglican parish church is situated on the north-west side of Kings Rd, Hurst Cross, Ashton-under-Lyne, about 215 yards from the centre of Hurst Cross.
It was designed in the Gothic Revival style by the architect Edwin Hugh Shellard for the Church Commissioners and it was erected in 1846-49. It is built of rock-faced stone with a slate roof.
The contractors for the stonework were Messrs Eaton & Hallas; roof slating was by Thomas Kenyon; woodwork was by Messrs Garside & Williams; and plastering and painting was by Messrs J & J Boothman.
The almost free-standing, three-stage tower on the south-west corner and transepts were added in 1862 and the architect was George Shaw of Saddleworth. The tower has a circular corner stair turret and it reduces in section at each stage while the top stage has stepped broaches changing to an octagon to accommodate the broach spire. Each triangular face of the tower being termed a ‘broach’.
A major benefactor of the church was Oldham Whittaker who was the local owner of Whittakers Mills on Queens Rd to the south east of the church.
The Church of St John the Evangelist is listed Grade II, List Entry No. 1162695.