Prestwich is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England, and includes the village of Simister and the surrounding countryside. It is unparished, and contains 48 listed buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England. Of these, one is listed at Grade I, the highest of the three grades, one is at Grade II*, the middle grade, and the others are at Grade II, the lowest grade. The town is largely residential, and its most important building is St Mary's Church. The church and numerous associated structures, particularly tombs and monuments in the churchyard, are listed. The other listed buildings include houses and associated structures, other churches, a public house, structures associated with the Thirlmere to Manchester water supply, a boundary stone, and two war memorials.
The oldest part of the church is the tower, the aisles date from the 16th century, the south porch was added in 1856, and two chapels in 1874–75. In 1888–89 Austin and Paley built the chancel, a chapel, a vestry and an organ chamber, and the north porch was added in 1895. The church is built in red sandstone with slate roofs, and consists of a nave with a clerestory flanked by aisles and chapels, a chancel with a clerestory and a north organ chamber and vestry, a south chapel, and a west tower. The tower has three stages and an embattledparapet, there is a stair turret with a polygonal cap between the chancel and the vestry, and the east window has seven lights with Perpendiculartracery.[2][3]
The sundial is in the grounds of the Rectory, and stands on a plinth. It has a square base with strapwork carvings, an octagonal shaft, and four faces; the gnomons are missing.[4][5]
The grave slab is in the churchyard of St Mary's Church, and commemorates members of the Ashworth family. It consists of a rectangular sandstone slab with an incised scroll and a heart motif, and is inscribed with the names of those buried in the grave.[7]
The grave slab is in the churchyard of St Mary's Church, and commemorates two members of the Scholefeild family. It consists of a rectangular sandstone slab incised with decorative motifs, and the names of those buried in the grave. Other names were added later.[8]
The grave slab is in the churchyard of St Mary's Church, and commemorates James Mason and other members of the Mason family. It consists of a rectangular sandstone slab incised with decorative motifs, and the names of those buried in the grave.[9]
The grave slab is in the churchyard of St Mary's Church, and commemorates Mary Lancashire and other members of the Lancashire family. It consists of a rectangular sandstone slab incised with decorative motifs, and the names of those buried in the grave. Other family names were added later.[10]
The grave slab is in the churchyard of St Mary's Church, and commemorates John Travis. It consists of a rectangular sandstone slab, deeply incised, with the names of those buried in the grave, including members of the Bowker family, who died later.[11]
The grave slab is in the churchyard of St Mary's Church, and commemorates members of the Barlowe family. It consists of a damaged rectangular sandstone slab with an incised decorative flower motif, and is inscribed with a long epitaph, and the names of those buried in the grave.[12]
The grave slab is in the churchyard of St Mary's Church, and commemorates James Grimshaw and other members of the Grimshaw family. It consists of a rectangular sandstone slab, deeply incised, with a large fleur-de-lis motif, inscriptions, including a verse, and the names of those buried in the grave.[13]
The grave slab is in the churchyard of St Mary's Church, and commemorates two female members of the Holland family. It consists of a rectangular sandstone slab deeply incised with a large fleur-de-lis motif and inscriptions relating to those buried in the grave.[14]
The grave slab is in the churchyard of St Mary's Church, and commemorates Ralph Hardman, his daughter, and two other people. It is a rectangular slab incised with a Green Man style face in a scrolled motif, and carries inscriptions relating to those buried in the grave.[15]
The grave slab is in the main footpath in the churchyard of St Mary's Church, and commemorates members of the Ramsbotham family. It consists of a sandstone slab with inscriptions and decoration.[16]
The grave slab is in the churchyard of St Mary's Church, and commemorates James Lancashire and his wife. It consists of a rectangular sandstone slab deeply incised, including a crenellated band, an angel's head with outstretched wings, and the names of those buried in the grave. Other names were added later.[17]
A brick house with a wooden cornice on ogee brackets. There are three storeys and three bays. On the lower two floors the windows are sashes, and in the top floor they are sliding casements.[18]
Originally a stable block, it forms four sides of a courtyard. The block is in brick with a hippedslate roof, and has two storeys. The front has seven bays, the middle three bays projecting under a pediment, and the windows are sashes. There are three arches, the central one leading into the courtyard, and the others in the end bays, one of which is blocked, and the other is blind.[20][21]
The house is in Georgian style, in brick with a cornice, a parapet, and a hippedslate roof. There are two storeys, a symmetrical front of five bays, and a recessed two-bay wing on the left. The middle three bays project slightly under a pediment, and on the front is a porch with paired Ionic columns, an entablature, and a blocking course.[20][23]
The hearse house is in the churchyard of St Mary's Church. It is in brick with ashlar dressings and has a slate roof. At the left end is a doorway with a shallow arched head and a stone lintel. The interior is divided into two parts, and contains a stone crest dated 1668, and a late medieval stone tomb slab with an incised floriated cross and shears.[25]
The conservatory is in Philips Park. It is in ashlar stone, and has five large vertical windows on the front, the central window projecting under a pediment. The conservatory has a glazed roof and a circular lantern.[26][27]
The table tomb is in the churchyard of St Mary's Church, and commemorates Mary Diggles. It is in sandstone, and was produced by a female stonemason. The tomb consists of a rectangular table on six short legs with a recessed panel. The surface depicts in low relief an angel blowing a trumpet, hearts and urns, and an inscription including a poem by Mary's husband. Further names were added later.[28]
This is a small rectangular structure in ashlar stone in the form of a temple in Philips Park. It has an archway framed by modified Tuscan half-columns and a dentilledcornice, and contains the statue of a draped female figure.[26][29]
The walls stretch along the north, east and south boundaries of the churchyard, and were extended on the south side in 1886. They are mainly in sandstone with curved copings, and there is a section in red brick. The gate piers are in openwork cast iron and have flat tops, colonettes to the corners and latticework in between. On the west face of the wall is a large oval stone inscribed with the date.[30]
The stone is adjacent to St Mary's Church. It is triangular, measuring 4 feet (1.2 m) by 4 feet (1.2 m) by 5 feet (1.5 m) and is inscribed with a message asking the public to keep off the grass.[31]
The memorial is in the churchyard of St Mary's Church and is in Gothic style. It consists of a tall oblong chest tomb with decorated panels and a concave peaked roof. There are crockets on the ridges and on a finial.[32]
A Commissioners' church that was extended later in the 19th century, and restored following a fire in 1985. It is in stone and has a slate roof with stone copedgables. The church consists of a nave and chancel in one cell, north and south aisles under separate roofs, a north porch, a southeast vestry, and a southwest porch acting as a columbarium. There are crocketedpinnacles at both ends of the church, and at the east end of the north aisle is a bell turret with a spirelet.[33][34]
A stone house, later used for other purposes, with a dentilledeavescornice, and a hippedslate roof. There are two storeys and a front of three bays, a single-bay extension to the left, and a three-storey service wing to the right. On the front is a band and a tetrastyleTuscanportico. The windows are in mouldedarchitraves, and those in the ground floor have bracketed hoods. In the left return the centre is pedimented with a Venetian window.[35]
The former lodge to Hilton Hall is in brick and is in cottage orné style, with one storey with an attic. There are gables on two fronts with decorative bargeboards and finials, and containing bay windows with mullioned and transomed windows. To the east is a turret with a coat of arms and a bellcote. The gatepost is in stone with an octagonal cap.[36]
The grave slab commemorates the electrical inventor William Sturgeon and members of his family. It is in the churchyard of St Mary's Church, and consists of a sandstone slab carrying an inscription and the names of those buried in the grave.[37]
The monument is in the churchyard of St Mary's Church, and is in Italianate style. It was designed by John Thomas, it is in Sicilian marble and granite, and consists of a square aedicule about 4.8 metres (16 ft) high. There is a large stone plinth and a granite pedestal, and in niches on the sides of the aedicule are carved marble female figures. On the pedestal is an inscription.[38][39]
The boundary stone marks the boundary between Prestwich and Salford. It is in ashlar with a triangular plan and a chamfered top. The top is inscribed "BOUNDARY STONE", and on the sides are inscribed the names of the towns.[40]
Originally a private house, Sedgley House, it was extended between 1875 and 1900, and has since been used for other purposes. The building is in red brick with a Welsh slate roof. There are two storeys with an attic, and the main front has three bays, each gabled with bargeboards, the outer bays projecting to form wings with cantedbay windows. On the front is a porch with an arched entrance, buttresses and a pierced parapet, and the windows are mullioned and transomed. There are three bays in the right return, and five at the rear.[20][41]
The tomb commemorates the botanist John Horsefield and members of his family, and is in the churchyard of St Mary's Church. The tomb is in sandstone and has six short legs supporting a rectangular table. The surface has decorative relief carving, including a dove with an olive branch, vines, oak leaves and acorns, and a depiction of the daffodilhybridised by Horsefield. There is also an inscription and a poem by Charles Swain.[38][42]
The house is in polychromatic brick with stone dressings and slate roofs, and is in Gothic Revival style. There are two storeys with attics, and a front of three bays. The first bay is gabled with bargeboards and contains a rectangular bay window. The middle bay contains an arched doorway, and has a pyramidal roof with a weathervane. There are two similar gables and a bay window in the right return. In front of the house are two cast iron standard lamps with globe lanterns.[26][43]
The memorial commemorates the engineer William Fairbairn and members of his family, and is in the churchyard of St Mary's Church. It consists of a tomb chest with a rectangular base and plinth in sandstone, and a shallow chest in grey polished granite, with moulded sides and a shallow hipped top. There are inscriptions on the north and south sides.[44]
The memorial to members of the Slagg family consists of a tomb chest designed by Alfred Waterhouse, and is in the churchyard of St Mary's Church. It has a rectangular base, a chest in Gothic style with eight polished pink granite colonnettes, three yellow sandstone panels on each side, and one at the end, some with inscriptions, a foliated frieze, and a hippedcanopy with a wreath and a cross.[38][45]
The church is in brick with stone dressings and slate roofs, and is in Gothic Revival style. In the ground floor are schoolrooms, with the chapel above. Entry is through a corner tower that has paired doorways in an arch with a traceriedtympanum and a hood mould. To the left is a gabled part which has flat-headed window in the ground floor and a four-light window above. Along the sides of the church are two tiers of windows.[a][46][47]
A pair of houses in Queen Anne style, built in red brick with wooden dressings and a steeply pitched tiled roof. There are two storeys and attics, and an asymmetrical front. In the ground floor are various projections, including a rectangular bay window with mullioned and transomed windows. There are varied windows in the upper floor, and in the roof are two dormers with pediments. To the left is a one-bay two-storey extension with an open arcade in the ground floor and a gabledoriel window above.[26][48]
Initially intended to be a temporary war memorial, it has survived and was removed to its present position in a garden at a road junction in about 1970. It consists of a timber cross with a square section, painted black, about 7 feet (2.1 m) high. It stands in a socket in two square steps. On the steps are two inscribed granite plaques.[54]
The war memorial is in the churchyard of St Mary's Church, and its design is based on the Cross of Sacrifice by Reginald Blomfield. The memorial consists of a stepped octagonal plinth on which stands a cross in Portland stone with a stepped base, and with a bronze sword on the face. The base has inscriptions referring to both world wars.[38][55]
The rectory is in brown brick with dressings in red brick and in stone, and has roofs partly of slate and partly of concrete. There are two storeys, and the building has a V-shaped plan. The main doorway is in the angle, and at the end of the ranges are octagonal projections. Some windows are sashes, and some are casements; the windows in the ground floor have flat heads and in the upper floor the heads are segmental. The doorways have round arches.[56][57]
The church is in brown brick with a chamferedplinth and Westmorlandslate roofs. It consists of a squat tower at the liturgical west end with a hipped roof surmounted by a cross, and flanked by a chapel to the north and a porch to the south, a nave, and a short chancel with a north vestry and a south sacristy. At the west end is a doorway flanked by pilasters and mouldedfinials, and above it and on the sides of the tower are circular windows. Along the sides of the nave are square clerestory windows, and in the chancel the windows are round.[4][58]
The pumping station controls the supply of water from Haweswater to Manchester. It is a rectangular building in Yorkshiresandstone, without windows and with a flat roof. On the bare wall facing the road is a carved relief in Westmorland green slate by Mitzi Cunliffe, and below are five plaques telling the history of the pipeline. At the sides of the building are steps leading to the upper level. Inside the building is a wooden relief depicting the route of the pipeline.[59][60]
