Manchester Cathedral

Manchester Cathedral sits on the edge of the city’s shopping streets, a dark sandstone church that is easy to walk past. Go in. It was built in the fifteenth century as a collegiate church, a college of priests paid to pray for its founders, and it keeps one of the finest sets of medieval quire stalls in England, a nave roof of angel musicians, and modern glass put in after bombs fell on it twice, in 1940 and in 1996.

From parish church to cathedral

There has been a church in Manchester since Anglo-Saxon times. In 1421 King Henry V licensed the conversion of the parish church of St Mary into a collegiate church, dedicated to St Mary, St George and St Denys, with a warden, fellows, singing clerks and choristers. Over the next century it was rebuilt in the Perpendicular Gothic style, and between about 1500 and 1506 the quire stalls were carved, paid for by James Stanley.

In 1847 the church became the cathedral of the new Diocese of Manchester. The Victorians restored it heavily, and between 1864 and 1868 the west tower was replaced by a copy of the old one, six feet higher. On 22 December 1940, during the Manchester Blitz, a German landmine destroyed the north-east corner of the building. On 15 June 1996 the IRA bomb on Deansgate damaged it again. In 2017 a new organ, the Stoller Organ, was dedicated.

The west tower of Manchester Cathedral with its clock and doorway, seen from the street — The west tower, rebuilt in the 1860s as a copy of the old one, six feet higher. Photograph by mahmurekoseogluu on Pexels.

The visitor's cheat sheet

Manchester Cathedral at a glance
Where	Victoria Street, Manchester, M3 1SX, in the city centre
Getting there	Manchester Victoria station about 5 minutes’ walk; Metrolink to Exchange Square or Victoria
Opening hours	Mon–Sat 9.30am–4pm; Sun 12pm–4pm. Times may change for special events, and access can be limited around the 1.10pm Eucharist
Admission	Free; suggested donation £5
How long	About 1 hour
Best time	A weekday morning, or stay for Choral Evensong at 5.30pm
Dress code	No formal code; respectful dress as in any working church
Tours	Free tours Mon–Sat 10am–4pm when volunteers are available; group tours £6 per adult, booked two weeks ahead

Hours and admission checked against the official site in October 2026. They change; the official site is always the last word.

The widest nave. Manchester is commonly claimed to have the widest nave of any cathedral in England. The width comes from the chantry chapels that were added along both sides in the Middle Ages and later opened into the nave as extra aisles.

Manchester Cathedral's tower and nave seen past bare trees in evening light — The tower and nave in the evening, with the modern city behind. Photograph by Max W on Pexels.

What to see, in the order you meet it

The nave and the angels

The nave is low and wide, with arcades of red sandstone. Look up: on the roof are fourteen carved angels, each playing a late-medieval instrument — on one side a portative organ, harp, psaltery, lute and hurdy-gurdy, on the other a trumpet, shawm, bagpipes, recorder and tabor among them.

The wide nave of Manchester Cathedral looking east, with red sandstone arcades and a flat timber roof — The nave, often said to be the widest of any cathedral in England. Photograph by Michael D Beckwith on Pexels.

The Angel Stone

Look for the Angel Stone, a small carving of an angel with a scroll inscribed in Latin “into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit”. It was found in the wall of the south porch and has been dated as early as about 700, though specialists now place it in the twelfth century.

The quire and the misericords

Through the medieval screen, the quire stalls of about 1500–1506 are carved with pinnacled canopies of astonishing intricacy, attributed to the Ripon workshop of William Brownflet. Under the seats are the misericords: thirty survive, carved with hunting scenes, animals and everyday life, including what is thought to be the earliest picture of backgammon in Britain.

The carved wooden quire stalls of Manchester Cathedral with their tall pinnacled canopies — The quire stalls of about 1500–1506, among the finest late-medieval woodwork in England. Photograph by Michael D Beckwith on Pexels.

A carved wooden misericord at Manchester Cathedral with figures and foliage — One of the thirty misericords under the quire seats. Photograph by Charlesdrakew on Wikimedia Commons (public domain).

Dark carved wooden Gothic screens inside Manchester Cathedral — Carved wooden screenwork in the eastern arm of the cathedral. Photograph by Chris06 on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).

The modern windows

The 1940 bomb blew out almost all the Victorian glass, and the cathedral has filled its windows since with modern work. The Fire Window by Margaret Traherne, of 1966, in the Regimental Chapel of the Manchester Regiment, remembers the Blitz in reds and golds; it was badly damaged in 1996 and restored. At the west end are Tony Hollaway’s windows of St George, St Denys and St Mary, the Creation and the Apocalypse, installed between 1973 and 1995, and Linda Walton’s Healing Window of 2004 marks the restoration after the 1996 bomb.

The Fire Window at Manchester Cathedral, a stained-glass window in blazing reds, oranges and yellows — Margaret Traherne’s Fire Window of 1966, in the Regimental Chapel. Photograph by Acediscovery on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0).

Tickets and tours

Free to visit, free tours

Visiting is free, with a suggested donation of £5. Free tours for individuals and families are generally available Monday to Saturday between 10am and 4pm, subject to volunteer availability. Group tours of about an hour cost £6 per adult, Monday to Friday, and need two weeks’ notice.

Where to stay in Manchester

The hotel link goes to Booking.com. This site earns nothing from it at present — it is here because it is the quickest way to check what is actually available.

Don't miss

The quire stalls Late-medieval canopies of extraordinary intricacy.
The misericords Thirty carved seats, one with a game of backgammon.
The angel musicians Fourteen of them on the nave roof.
The Fire Window The Blitz remembered in red and gold glass.
The Angel Stone The oldest carving in the building.
Chetham's Library Next door, in the old college buildings.

Insider tips

Go next door. The cathedral’s medieval college buildings now house Chetham’s School of Music and Chetham’s Library, the oldest public library in the English-speaking world, founded in 1653. There are no visitor toilets in the cathedral, so plan for the shopping centres nearby.

The cathedral stands at the edge of the Medieval Quarter, close to the National Football Museum and the Corn Exchange. Choral Evensong is usually sung at 5.30pm; check the service times before you go.

Common questions

Is Manchester Cathedral free to visit?

Yes. Visiting is free, with a suggested donation of £5 towards running costs; contactless donations are accepted. Free tours are usually available for individuals and families, Monday to Saturday.

What are the misericords?

Hinged seats in the quire stalls, carved underneath with small scenes. Manchester has thirty from the early sixteenth century, among the finest in Europe; one is thought to be the earliest picture of backgammon in Britain.

Was Manchester Cathedral bombed?

Twice. On 22 December 1940 a German landmine destroyed the north-east corner of the building, and on 15 June 1996 the IRA bomb on Deansgate damaged it again, including the Fire Window.

Are there toilets in Manchester Cathedral?

No. There are no visitor toilets inside; the nearest are at Marks & Spencer and the Arndale Centre, about five minutes’ walk.

How do you get to Manchester Cathedral?

Manchester Victoria station is about five minutes’ walk, and the Metrolink stops at Exchange Square and Victoria are closer still.

Where to stay and eat nearby

The Corn Exchange next door is full of restaurants, and the city centre around the cathedral has hotels of every kind.

Hotels in Manchester

More English churches

Liverpool Cathedral — a twentieth-century giant, under an hour away by train
Chester Cathedral — quire stalls of about 1380
Ripon Cathedral — the stalls from the same school of carvers

See all the cathedrals and churches worth visiting in England →