St. Mary the Virgin, Deane

]] The Church of St Mary is situated in the old township of Rumworth, on high ground above the Church Brook—formerly the Saxon Kirkbroke—which flows through Deane Clough to the River Croal. St Mary, also known as St Mariden, was a chapel of ease of St Mary in Eccles before becoming the mother church of the ancient ecclesiastical parish of Deane. This parish was formed from the northern part of Eccles and takes its name from Deane Clough, the narrow wooded valley immediately west of the church. The building originated in the 14th century as a structure consisting of a nave and chancel with a steeply pitched roof and a western tower, which has since been considerably enlarged and altered.

The oldest part of the church is the 14th-century west tower, which belonged to an earlier building on the site. The church is constructed of rough wall-stones and has embattled parapets to the chancel, nave, and aisles. At the east end stand three crocketed pinnacles. The windows feature rounded, uncusped heads to the lights, while the clerestory contains an almost continuous line of square-headed, three-light windows. The chancel has a seven-light pointed east window. Both the chancel and nave are covered by a continuous, flat-pitched oak-panelled roof dating from 1884, which follows the lines of the older structure. In the early 15th century, the church was extended with the addition of…