Macclesfield, Christ Church, Cheshire Genealogy

History
Great King Street. Founded 1775 as a chapel to Macclesfield, St Michael's, becoming the parish church for part of Macclesfield in 1888; closed in 1983.

In the second half of the 18th century the parish church of Macclesfield, St Michael's was not big enough to cope with the needs of the growing population of the town. In 1772 David Simpson was appointed curate to the church but was deprived of his curacy because of his evangelical beliefs and preaching. Simpson had been invited to Macclesfield by Charles Roe, a local industrialist. Roe built Christ Church for David Simpson, who became its first vicar.

The body of the church was built in seven months in 1775 and the church was opened on Christmas Day of that year. The tower was built the following year. Its height is 107 feet (33 m) which is out of proportion to the body of the church. It was built to this height to compete with the height of the tower of St Michael's Church. David Simpson was a close friend of John Wesley, the founder of Methodism. Unusually for an Anglican church, Simpson invited Wesley to preach there on at least 12 occasions.

Church Records
Cheshire Record Office Reference P 84 Macclesfield Christ Church Parish Date 16th century - 20th century Registers: C 1775-1983, Marriages 1889-1982, Burials 1776-1961. Records other than registers 1599-1983 http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=017-p84&amp;cid=0

Maps
England Jurisdictions 1851