Bury Parish Church

Eighteenth century church records suggest that the first church was built in 971 when parishes were first formed by King Edgar. If this is true, Bury is amongst the oldest church towns in the country. Such a building would not have been how we see a church today; it would have been more of a preaching house with walls of wood and a roof of thatch.

Further evidence of the church's early existence is in the south wall's triptych (picture carvings on three wooden panels which are joined together) which records the names of  Rectors since 1187 and states "The Parish of Bury is one of the great ancient Parishes of Lancashire".

Because it is not possible to reliably date the 'first' Bury church, it cannot be accurately stated how many 'Bury Parish Churches' have existed. Tradition says a church was built around 1290. If it was, and the date 971 for the first Bury church is accepted, then the 1290 building is probably the third church. Being constructed of wood and thatch, it is doubtful that the original could have lasted for nearly 300 years.

The next church was completed around 1585 and is likely to have been Gothic in style.

Between 1773 and 1780 the next reconstruction took place. The whole of the building, apart from the spire, was pulled down and rebuilt at a cost of about £3500. This cost was shared between the manor of Bury, the manor of Tottington and the Rector of the parish. The new structure was said to be 'handsome and spacious', the interior 'well finished' and 'free from gloom'. The nave was divided from the side aisles by plain columns. On the 5th November 1780 the new church was opened.

In 1842 the church had to have a new spire. By 1870, the woodwork of the 1780 building had rotted and it was unsafe to hold services there. It was decided to pull down the body of the church but to leave the spire, which was only 28 years old, standing. On 5 July 1870, the chancel was pulled down and services were held in the Town Hall (now the Derby Hall). J S Crowther, the architect behind the new building, proposed that the steeple was rebuilt as the current one was 'more suited in character and dimensions to a small village church than to an important parish church in the centre of a large town'. However his proposals were ignored and the existing steeple remained. This has resulted in the two structures being out of proportion with each other.

The current church was officially opened on the Feast of the Annunciation on 2 February 1876. The local newspaper stated that the opening ceremony was 'the most imposing scene that had ever been witnessed in connection with church services in Bury'.