Holland Grave Slab in Churchyard of Church of St Mary
HOLLAND GRAVE SLAB IN CHURCHYARD OF CHURCH OF ST MARY, CHURCH LANE, PRESTWICH, BURY, GREATER MANCHESTER
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1406301
- Date first listed:
- 21-Feb-2012
- List Entry Name:
- Holland Grave Slab in Churchyard of Church of St Mary
- Statutory Address:
- HOLLAND GRAVE SLAB IN CHURCHYARD OF CHURCH OF ST MARY, CHURCH LANE, PRESTWICH, BURY, GREATER MANCHESTER
Location
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1406301
- Date first listed:
- 21-Feb-2012
- List Entry Name:
- Holland Grave Slab in Churchyard of Church of St Mary
- Statutory Address 1:
- HOLLAND GRAVE SLAB IN CHURCHYARD OF CHURCH OF ST MARY, CHURCH LANE, PRESTWICH, BURY, GREATER MANCHESTER
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
Location
- Statutory Address:
- HOLLAND GRAVE SLAB IN CHURCHYARD OF CHURCH OF ST MARY, CHURCH LANE, PRESTWICH, BURY, GREATER MANCHESTER
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- District:
- Bury (Metropolitan Authority)
- Parish:
- Non Civil Parish
- National Grid Reference:
- SD8110103659
Summary
Grave slab commemorating Margaret Holland and her daughter, c1687.
Reasons for Designation
The Holland grave slab, c1687, in St Mary's churchyard, Prestwich, is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Early date: It is an increasingly rare survival of a C17 grave slab with an original inscription that remains fully legible
* Decoration: It incorporates a large, stylised fleur-de-lys motif to the foot of the slab
* Historic interest: It illustrates the extensive history of the St Mary's churchyard and the original Prestwich-cum-Oldham parish, once one of the largest and wealthiest parishes in the country
* Group value: It has group value with the Grade I listed St Mary's Church and the other listed monuments and structures in the St Mary's churchyard
History
St Mary's Church, Prestwich, dates to the C14 with later alterations, and the oldest extant grave marker in the churchyard dates to 1641. However, the topography of the churchyard suggests a much older burial ground. The churchyard has been extended many times, including in 1827 when boundary walls were constructed. Prior to these walls being erected the churchyard was enclosed by a ditch and hedge created in 1706, and subsequently by the planting of beech and fir trees in 1763. Further extensions of the churchyard occurred in 1864, 1886, 1924 and 1950.
The western section of the churchyard contains, amongst other graves, the unmarked burials of thousands of inmates of the County Asylum Prestwich dating from the mid-C19 to early-C20, although several communal graves for the asylum's attendants and some inmates are marked by grave slabs. In 1801 a hearse house (altered in the mid-late C20) was constructed to the north of the church.
Details
Sandstone, rectangular grave slab with deep incised carving including border. Very large, stylised fleur-de-lys motif to the foot of the slab. Inscriptions in wide-spaced lettering; that to the top of the slab reads 'HERE RESTETH THE/ BODIES OF'. Inscription to the centre of the slab reads 'MARGARET THE WIFE/ OF IOHN HOLLAND OF/ CROLEY OF PILKINGTON/ WHO DYED THE 9TH DAY/ OF APRILL 1687/ ELIZABETH HOLLAND/ HIS DAVGHTER DYED THE/ 27TH DAY OF SEPTEMBER/ 1680'.
Sources
Books and journals
Pringle, I, Saint Mary Prestwich: A Description of the Churchyard, (2008)
Sather, K, St Mary's Prestwich: Conservation Management Plan, (n.d.)
Hartwell, C, Hyde, M, Pevsner, N, The Buildings of England: Lancashire: Manchester and the South-East, (2004, reprinted 2010 with corrections), 566
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 08-Jun-2026 at 02:11:30.
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