Old Chapel
Dukinfield, Greater Manchester
A neo Gothic Victorian Grade II* listed building with stained glass by Capronnier and Commere of Brussels.
Of this type of common medieval building only 29 remain in England and Wales. The beams are held together with wooden pegs, giving the church its original nickname, Th'owd Peg ('the old peg').
Originally it was not a parish church but a chapel of ease, a sort of halfway house. It became a parish church dedicated to St Lawrence in 1839 after some fragments of glass depicting his martyrdom were discovered within the structure of the building. These fragments are now incorporated into a window on the south side of the sanctuary.
The church was expanded in 1872 when two transepts and the chancel were added. The ornate screen was installed in 1926. At the west end of the nave is an 18th century minstrel gallery where the musicians and choir were located.
The church stands in one of the few open green spaces in urban Denton; the yew was planted in 1801 and is protected by a Preservation Order, as are many of the trees in the churchyard.
