St. Lawrences

St. Lawrences Church is an impressive black and white timber framed building, that was originally built in 1531 by the families of two landowners but has been altered since. It was a chapel of ease at the time, of St Mary's Manchester and this lasted until 1854 when the parish of St Lawrence, originally St James but changed because the Denton Wakes holiday fell on St Lawrences day, was intoduced.

The church underwent repair both in 1816 and 1839 and was completely restored between 1859 and 1862, it having become the parish church by then. Two transepts and a chancel were added in 1872 and the black and white exterior covers plaster, timber and brick. It is now listed as a grade two building. There is a monument dedicated to Edward Holland who died 1655, a member of one of the founding families of the church, in the north trancept, inscribed with the following words:

"Reduced to ashes here sleeps Edward Holland, only son of Richard holland, formerly of denton. He was a young man of very early ripened character, deep learning, charming manners, notable virtue, real unfeigned piety. he had hardly passed boyhood when he bore away the prize from others and passed them by with ease. He was the glory and ornament of his family, the hope and desire of his country, the pleasure and also the comfort of his friends. But, alas, amid the prayers and embraces of all he died before his time and, after a terrible attack of smallpox gave us a mournful token of mortality, built for himself and everlasting monument that is his memory, still green to this day."

Victoria Park

This is a child orientated park located to the rear of the Town Hall. The newly restored bandstand allows traditional music as an accompaniment to any park based activities, and is well worth seeing.