St Mary the Virgin, Middleton

In 1494, a chantry chapel dedicated to St Mary the Virgin was endowed by Gilbert Leygh in Middleton It closed at the time of the Reformation. Middleton was part of the parish of Rothwell. In 1845, R. H. Brandling of Middleton Lodge gave land on Town Street on which to build a church and parsonage. The Brandlings owned the Middleton Collieries and built the Middleton Railway. The Incorporated Society for promoting the Enlargement, Building and Repairing of Churches and Chapels made a grant of £350 towards the cost of building the church, on condition that all the seats were declared free, and public subscriptions raised more than £1,000. There is a tradition that Middleton miners gave either…

The east window depicts Christ and the west window is on the theme of the evangelists. Windows in the chancel contain stained glass by William Wailes of Newcastle made between 1848 and 1852. There are two late-Victorian windows made by Barnett of Newcastle and the rest of the church is glazed in clear leaded lights. The vestry was formed in 1882 by partitioning the north west corner with solid oak screens. The tower holds a single bell made by C & G Mears of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry in 1846 and is hung for swing chiming. The clock by Potts of Leeds dates from 1862.