MANCHESTER CITY CHURCHES

FOR one reason or another some of Manchester's older churches have disappeared. Here we take a look at some of their images and briefly explain the reasons why some of them no longer exist.

ST JOHN'S, BYROM ST

ST JOHN'S was built by Edward Byrom following an Act of Parliament in 1768. St John's parish was united with St Matthews, Campfield in 1928 when St Mathews became the parish church, but the St John's parsonage served the as home for the clergy. St John's church was demolished in 1931. This new parish was united with St Ann's in 1943.

Courtesy of Manchester Archives and Local Studies

http://www.images.manchester.gov.uk/

ST MARY'S, PARSONAGE

ST MARY'S was consecrated on September 29^th 1756 after an Act of Parliament in 1753. It was closed in October 1890 and the parish was united with St Ann's to form the newly named parish of St Ann and St Mary.

Courtesy of Manchester Archives and Local Studies

http://www.images.manchester.gov.uk/

ST PETER'S, MOSLEY ST

ST PETER'S Church was an impressive building. It was consecrated 6^th September 1794. The impending closure of this church was the cause of some controversy.

In 1906 The Manchester Churches Act was passed by Parliament. In the preamble to the Act it is stated that with the conversion of dwelling houses to commercial properties in certain parishes in the City of Manchester population diminished and in other parishes increased. Which meant too many churches in parts of the city and visa versa.

A 1905 commission set up by the Bishop of Manchester came to the conclusion that St Peter, Mosley St, Saints Simon and Jude, Granby Row and St Martins Oldham Road be removed and sold, and the mentioned parishes be united with adjacent Parishes. This is exactly was the 1906 Act did.

At first Manchester Corporation were opposed to the proposed Act while it was still at the Bill stage. After some time there was agreement between the Corporation and the Diocese of Manchester. These common points were then included in a revised Bill later the actual Act.

Courtesy of Manchester Archives and Local Studies

http://www.images.manchester.gov.uk/

The Act stated that St Peter's was to unify with St James's, George St and that the Corporation would purchase the church, vaults and attached land for £20,000 excluding all the valuable moveable objects such as the organ, font, altar, monuments, stained glass etc. the Diocese had to remove all this objects within 3 months of the Act coming into law, otherwise they would become Corporation property.

For the Corporations part they had to make an accurate plan of all the graves and vaults, together with transcription of all the readable monumental inscriptions. Then they had to cover and protect all the graves. The Corporation had to agree to demolish the church within twelve months of the passing of the Act. Furthermore, they had to agree that the land could only be used for the purposes of widening adjoining streets and as an open space for the benefit of the citizens of Manchester. They also agreed that a memorial to the church costing £500 would be erected on the site.

Manchester Corporation paid the money to the Manchester diocese on July 19^th 1907. In his book, A Short History Of Manchester and Salford, F A Bruton puts it much more simply. At the bottom of Mosley St a graceful cross marks the dark pile of St Peter's Church, which was consecrated in 1794, but was found to block the traffic so seriously that it had to be removed.

ST AUGUSTINE'S R C, GRANBY ROW

St Augustine's R C Church has had a very chequered history. Its first location was Granby Row but with a combination of the 1906 Open Spaces Act and the 1908 Manchester Corporation Act it was removed to York St, Chorlton-on-Medlock, becoming the major Roman Catholic church in the area. In December 1940 Enemy Action reduced the church to a shell, no pun intended. However the Parish Church did rise again but in another location overlooking where All Saints used to stand. The church was not built until 1968 before the church was dedicated, once again, to St Augustine.

Courtesy of Manchester Archives and Local Studies

http://www.images.manchester.gov.uk/

ST ANN'S

St Ann's was built in Acres Field. Construction began in 1709 and the church was consecrated in 1712. It was a Low Church as opposed the High Church Collegiate Church. Its congregation tended towards the Whigs. A district was not assigned to St Ann's until September 1838. Early baptisms and burials i.e. up to 1736 were recorded in the Collegiate Church registers. The same applied to marriages before May 1838. St Ann's church steeple was badly damage by an earthquake in 1777 and was removed shortly after.

St Ann's Square 1741

courtesy of Manchester Archives and Local Studies

http://www.images.manchester.gov.uk/

RETURN TO THE TOP OF THE PAGE

RETURN TO MENU

PLEASE CONTACT ME AT:

mail@manchester-family-history-research.co.uk

www.uksearch2003.co.uk a companion site

Do Not Reproduce Any Material Without The Prior Permission Of The Author

Last update: 10th August 2008