Rochdale Parish Church open for visitors

Rochdale Parish Church open for visitors Wednesday and Thursday afternoons

Rochdale Parish Church, St Chad’s, the heritage building that tells the story of Rochdale from before 1066 to today, is opening itsdoors to welcome drop-in visitors on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons.

Volunteers will be on duty to show visitors the historic features of the town’s oldest building which is still serving the residents of Rochdale today.  

Parts of St Chad’s, which is at the top of the 122 steps up from the Town Hall, dates back to the Middle Ages, though it has been built and rebuilt down the generations.

Earliest written evidence is the record of the first Vicar of Rochdale, who served the then huge Lancashire parish from the year 1194.

Overseas visitors are often in Rochdale to trace their family stories, as their ancestors were baptised or married at the Parish Church.  

Of special interest now is the church’s 1914-18 Great War memorial, listing the names of local men lost in the fighting in France and Gallipoli.

Rochdale Parish Church, St Chad’s, is open Wednesday and Thursday afternoons, 2-4 pm, until the beginning of September. Entry is free, and there are printed leaflets and a colourful guidebook.