Manchester Cathedral

The origins of Manchester's first churches are obscure. The Angel Stone, a small carving of an angel with a scroll, is preserved in the cathedral. It was discovered in the wall of the cathedral's south porch providing evidence of an earlier, possibly Anglo-Saxon, church. It has been dated to around 700 AD, however the Corpus of Anglo-Saxon sculpture dates the sculpture to the twelfth century. Its Latin inscription translates as "into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit". 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…

The cathedral is constructed of three types of stone. The walls and internal piers were originally constructed in a dark purple-brown Collyhurst sandstone formed in the Early Permian period. This is now visible only in the tower arch of the nave, in the interior of the Jesus Chapel and in the chancel; as in the early 19th century all the surfaces of the nave and aisles were scored to be encased in Roman Cement. This damaged the structure so severely that most internal and external stonework had to be replaced in the later 19th century restorations in buff-grey Fletcher Bank Grit from Ramsbottom. The nave floors have, since the 1960s, been relaid in limestone from the Peak District which…

The visitor centre by the cathedral's south porch costing £3 million was opened by Elizabeth II. It has a shop and an exhibition room. The main attraction is the 15th-century Hanging Bridge, a scheduled monument, that was once the main approach to the church but was buried for more than 100 years.