Church of St Wilfrid, Northenden

St Wilfrid's Church, Northenden

The Church of St Wilfrid in Ford Lane, Northenden, Manchester, England, is an Anglican church of late medieval origins which was substantially re-built in the 19th century by J. S. Crowther. The church was designated a Grade II* listed building on 25 February 1952.

The origin of St Wilfrid's is possibly Saxon, with a mention in the Domesday Book of a "church (at) Norwardine: (held by) Ranulf and Bigot from Earl Hugh." The core of the current church is 15th century. Crowther was commissioned to undertake repairs in 1872 but found that the medieval church was substantially without foundations. He therefore undertook complete rebuilding, except for the Perpendicular tower, in 1873–6. Crowther also prepared plans for the re-building of the tower, but these were not followed through and reconstruction was undertaken instead.

The interior contains some original medieval screens, including one above the doorway in the south chapel which depicts "a pair of tumblers and a monkey sitting on a drum. The tumblers can be read in two ways, so that they really do seem to tumble." The Victorian stained glass is complete, donated either by the Tatton family of nearby Wythenshawe Hall, or the Watkins family of Rose Hill, Northenden Some may be the work of the significant stained glass designer, Charles Eamer Kempe. There is a good selection of funerary monuments "to members of the Tatton and Egerton families including: Robert Tatton (d.1689), aedicule with putti; Mrs Egerton (d.1784), urn with carved flower garland; William Egerton (d.1806), woman lying on sarcophagus; and to Thomas Worthington (d.1856), mourning woman with 3 sarcophagi under weeping willow."

In the large graveyard is the tomb of Sir Edward Watkin, Victorian railway magnate, as well as those of many of the Tatton family. The churchyard also contains war graves of eight service personnel of World War I and three from World War II.