Manchester Cathedral by Emanuele Porcinai
Manchester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Mary, St Denys and St George, in Manchester, England, is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Manchester, seat of the Bishop of Manchester and the city's parish church. It is on Victoria Street in Manchester city centre.
The main body of the cathedral is in the Perpendicular Gothic style. James Stanley (warden 1485–1506) was responsible for commissioning the late-medieval wooden furnishings, including the pulpitum, choir stalls and the nave roof supported by angels with gilded instruments. The medieval church was extensively refaced, restored and extended in the Victorian period, and again following bomb damage in the 20th century. The cathedral is one of fifteen Grade I listed buildings in Manchester.
The origins of Manchester's first churches are obscure. The Angel Stone, a small carving of an angel with a scroll was discovered in the wall of the cathedral's south porch providing evidence of an early Saxon church has been dated to around 700 AD is preserved in the cathedral. Its Old English inscription translates as "into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit".The first church, possibly sited on or near the site of St Ann's Church, was destroyed by Danish invaders in 923 and a church dedicated to St Mary, built by King Edward the Elder, possibly where St Mary's Gate joins Exchange Street, was mentioned in the Domesday Book in 1086. The Domesday Book entry for Manchester reads "the Church of St Mary and the Church of St Michael hold one carucate of land in Manchester exempt from all customary dues except tax".
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