St Matthew's parish has been the subject of much economic, social, historical and geographical research during the last 30 years. It provides a rich resource for studying the growth of a classic working-class parish during the Victorian period.

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The Church, built in 1866, is of an unusual construction shaped on a Greek-cross pattern with the crux cut obliquely to give an octagon. The interior is a spectacular structure with low walls pierced by many lancet windows. The roof soars up to an octagonal lantern, through which daylight streams down on the congregation. There is no formal chancel; this adds to the feeling that the church was built primarily as a preaching house. In 1996, the Department of National Heritage listed the church as Grade 2 Architectural or Historic Interest.

Read more about our building.