St. Paul's Churchyard in Withington, Greater Manchester

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Get directions Wilmslow Road
Withington, Metropolitan Borough of Manchester, Greater Manchester England

Coordinates: 53.43249, -2.22808
Cemetery ID:

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The Church of St Paul is located at 491 Wilmslow Road (the B5093), Withington, Manchester, M20 4AW, close to the fire station. Before the mid-19th century, Withington did not have a parish church; it was part of the large Parish of Manchester. There was however a chapel in Didsbury (now St. James' Church – Cemetery ID 2423865) which served as the local place of worship. St. Paul's parish church was consecrated on 21st October 1841. Originally, St. Paul's church served the people of Withington, Fallowfield, Ladybarn and Burnage. It cost £2,790 4s 4½d to build and had seating for 649 people. In 1847, the church's first organ was played by Felix Mendelssohn, the composer, who was staying nearby. According to a churchwarden's account, Mendelssohn "played a service and gave a recital upon the organ and it was pronounced by him to be an excellent instrument." Before its enlargement to the present size, the church had no lady-chapel or choir vestry; these were added in the late 1850s, as was the clock in the tower. The church was re-opened in 1863 after the construction work. In 1894, the old lych-gate was replaced with the current one. In December 1940, a mine fell by parachute and became caught in a tree in the churchyard to the north of the church. Everybody in nearby buildings was evacuated, but it failed to explode and was later defused. Unfortunately the graveyard is currently (August 2021) very overgrown with many of the headstones inaccessible.