St Mary the Virgin

The name Eccles itself is derived from a primitive Welsh word borrowed from the Latin meaning 'a church'.

By the early 15th century, its nave had been rebuilt when the aisles were widened and the magnificent carved timber roof was constructed. The carved bosses show the Sun in Splendour, the badge of the Yorkist King Edward IV during the Wars of the Roses (1455-85).

Over the centuries, many of the masons who carried out alterations and extensions left their signatures on their work, and there are 16 different masons' marks in this church, to be found especially in the nave and the tower.

In the 20th century, the galleries were removed to open the church to its full beauty, and in 1929 two stained glass windows were installed at the west end.

The one on the south side is the Palm Sunday window, made of 16th century glass. It is said to have been brought to England at the time of the French Revolution from a convent in Rouen and placed in the now demolished St John's Church, off Deansgate. When it closed, the window came to Eccles.