About Us

Our church has exciting opportunities before it and important decisions to make but before we focus on specific projects we need to be quite sure that we have a clear idea about what we are trying to achieve. Here is an outline of the aspirations of our PCC.

Eccles Parish Church is a beautiful ancient building in the very heart of a small town which has seen better days. The church is financially stable and has a gradually increasing congregation with a widening demographic, albeit from a rather low base. Our priority is to reach out to our local community with God’s message and provide a place of sanctuary for everyone.

The adjacent town center buildings were purchased by Salford City Council in 2023. Some unused parts of the center are about to be demolished and the Council are seeking the community’s thoughts on its redevelopment over the next few years. Naturally, we are keen to see our medieval church become a central part of this vision - and the City Council agrees. There are great opportunities here to reach out into the local community and reposition the Parish Church as the spiritual, social and even commercial center of Eccles.

Whilst pursuing these objectives we must also address the physical state of the building. At over 800 years old, it is in pretty good shape but there are emerging issues. Some of the stonework is deteriorating, the drainpipes and gulleys need upgrading and there are problems with the window grills. More critically, the Chancel is gradually sinking into a largely unknown collection of burial chambers. This has prompted Historic England to place this Grade 1 listed building on their Buildings At Risk register at Priority A.

Our strategy to address these needs is:

• To further develop as a worshipping, growing, and transforming Christian presence at the heart of our community and to offer a place of sanctuary and quiet reflection to everyone of any faith or none.

• To fully engage with the City Council in order to ensure that the church is seen as an important part of the town Centre's development - not only as its oldest and most noteworthy building but also as a functioning part of the community.

• To ensure that our building is safe and sound. To this end we will seek architectural advice to address the defects in its fabric together with archeological advice on the best approach to take on the problems in the Chancel.