St Mary

The tower was built in about 1500 by the 1st Earl of Derby, and the body of the church was rebuilt during the early part of the 16th century. In 1872 a new chapel, the Birch Chapel, was added to the south of the chancel and to the east of the existing south Lever chapel; the Lever Chapel was rebuilt two years later.

This huge church is built from red sandstone with stone slate roofs. Inside the beautiful coffered roof contains carved bosses.

There is much to discover inside. The stone reredos is a memorial to a child who died at the age of eight from scarlet fever in 1863. The altar rails, the stalls, the screen, and the pulpit were designed by Paley, Austin and Paley. The organ screen is a memorial to the First World War, and wings were added to it to commemorate the Second World War. There is some stunning stained glass, and lovely memorials and brasses.

The churchyard dates from the fourteenth century but has been extended many times.

The western section contains the burial plots of over 5 000 of inmates of the Prestwich County Asylum, in its time Europe's largest psychiatric hospital, dating between 1851 and 1968. Several graves for the asylum's attendants and some for inmates are marked by grave slabs, but the majority are unmarked, communal graves. In 2006, a memorial was erected.

There are also 48 war graves of service personnel.