St Michael's Church, Middleton

The church was built in 1901–02 replacing an earlier church on the site dating from 1839. It was paid for by J. W. Lees, a brewer.[3] It was designed by the Lancaster firm of architects, Austin and Paley. At this time only the east end and the first bay of the nave were built.[4] The nave was completed in 1911,[5] and the tower was added between 1926 and 1931 at a cost of £6,656 (equivalent to £480,000 in 2021),[6][7]

St Michael's is constructed in stone with a tile roof. Its architectural style is Perpendicular. The plan consists of a four-bay nave with a clerestory, north and south aisles, a chancel with a side chapel, vestry and organ chamber, and a virtually free-standing tower to the west of the north aisle. At the west end of the church is a canted baptistry. The tower is in four stages, with bands separating the stages. It has angle buttresses, an octagonal stair turret, a doorway over which is a four-light window, clock faces, three-light bell openings, and a castellated parapet. The windows along the sides of the aisles have two, three or four lights with flat heads; those in the clerestory have three lights under round-arched heads. Both the east and west windows have five lights. Inside the church the arcades are carried on octagonal piers.[2] Most of the stained glass is by Shrigley and Hunt.[3]

• List of churches in Greater Manchester
• Listed buildings in Middleton, Greater Manchester
• List of ecclesiastical works by Austin and Paley (1895–1916)
• List of ecclesiastical works by Austin and Paley (1916–44)

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