George Shaw

George  Shaw  was  the  son  of  a  prosperous Saddleworth clothier, for whose business he was travelling salesman until interest in antiquities, romantic literature and architecture drew him in his late thirties, and entirely self-taught,  to  architectural  practice.  With this he combined the allied trades of builder, contractor and church-furnisher, the last at his Uppermill workshop.

He designed and carried out the erection of churches at Eaton, Retford, West Houghton, Ripponden, Norden, Wardle, Handle Hall, Healey, Denham Massy, Carle Coates, Gorton, Compstall, Middleton, Oldham, Staley, Hurst, Hurst Brook, Greenfield, and Friezeland, besides the restoration and alteration of towers, and the building of parsonages and schools. The building of Quinstone Park Church, near York for the late Lord Londesborough,  and extensive buildings of various kinds on the Welsh estate of john Platt, of Oldham, and also for Gladstone the ex-premier of England, on the Hawarden estate, were amongst his works.

In later years he suffered from attacks of paralysis, and, after a protracted illness, died in August 1876