Deane, Greater Manchester

The name Deane derives from the Old English word "denu" - meaning valley.[3] In earlier times Deane was written without the final "e".[3] The stream running in the valley to the west of the church was named the Kirkbroke - meaning Church Brook. The valley is also referred to as Deane Clough, "clough" being a Northern English word for a ravine or deep valley.[4]

Since Anglo-Saxon times there has been a chapel at Deane in the township of Rumworth,[5] the earliest record is from the year 1100. This chapel of ease dedicated to St Mary the Virgin was sometimes referred to as St Mariden i.e. St Mary's, Deane in old documents.[6][7] Deane chapelry in the ancient parish of Eccles was mentioned in 13th-century deeds and became a parish in its own right in 1541. St Mary's Church, on the site of the original chapel, dates from 1452 replacing an earlier structure, the tower and north door are older than the rest of the building. The church has been altered at various times and was restored in about 1880.[8][9]

The Protestant martyr, George Marsh, a farmer's son, was born in Deane in 1515. When Edward VI became King in 1547, Marsh's study of the New Testament led to his appointment as a preaching minister. When Edward VI died in 1553, his half-sister Mary I became Queen. She sought to re-establish Roman Catholicism, Marsh became victim to her persecution of the reformers. He appeared before Justice Barton at Smithills Hall accused of preaching false doctrines. Imprisoned at Chester, he refused to deny his beliefs, was tried, convicted, and burnt at the stake on April 24, 1555.[10][11] A memorial was erected in the churchyard in 1893, it is a Grade II listed structure.[12]