Because of the extensive refurbishment carried out both inside and outside the church during the nineteenth century, many people can be forgiven for thinking that, from appearances at least, Manchester Cathedral is a relatively modern church.

In fact evidence of an early Saxon church in Manchester comes from the Angel Stone, which was discovered embedded in the wall of the original South Porch of the Cathedral in the 19th century, and which has been dated to around 700 CE.

It was around the year 1075 that King William the Conqueror gave all the land between the River Ribble and the River Mersey to Roger de Poitou, son of the Earl of Shrewsbury.