Christ Church, Macclesfield

In the second half of the 18th century the parish church of Macclesfield, St Michael's was not big enough to cope with the needs of the growing population of the town. In 1772 David Simpson was appointed curate to the church but was deprived of his curacy because of his evangelical beliefs and preaching. Simpson had been invited to Macclesfield by Charles Roe, a local industrialist. Roe built Christ Church for David Simpson, who became its first vicar. The body of the church was built in seven months in 1775 and the church was opened on Christmas Day of that year. The tower was built the following year. Its height is 107 ft which is out of proportion to the body of the church. It was built…

Inside the church a continuous gallery curves round the north, west and south sides, which is supported by columns of cast iron which are encased in wood. Also on the south wall is a monument to David Simpson. There is a ring of ten bells which are still used regularly. Ten bells were cast in 1777 by Rudhall of Gloucester. In 1815, the two lightest bells were sold, and the 9th was recast by William Dobson of Downham. The tenor bell was recast by Taylors of Loughborough in 1902, and in 1947 they added two trebles to make a ring of ten again. Being a redundant church, there is no ringing for Sunday services, but there is a regular practice on Monday evening (usually 19:00 to 21:15), though it…