[New post] Manchester’s Hidden Gem – St. Mary’s Catholic Church
Eunice posted: "On one of my recent wanderings round the city centre I discovered, almost by accident, St. Mary's Catholic Church otherwise known as the Hidden Gem. Tucked away down a narrow side street near the Town Hall and surrounded by taller modern buildings it isn'" Life In The Mouse House
On one of my recent wanderings round the city centre I discovered, almost by accident, St. Mary's Catholic Church otherwise known as the Hidden Gem. Tucked away down a narrow side street near the Town Hall and surrounded by taller modern buildings it isn't immediately obvious and I only found it after going down an alley in search of street art.
The parish of St. Mary dates back to 1794 though the first permanent Catholic chapel to be built in Manchester following the Reformation was St Chad's, situated a short distance away in Rook Street (now Fountain Street) and opened in 1774. In 1778 St Chad's was taken over by Father Rowland Broomhead and in 1792 he decided to set up a second Catholic chapel in the city, purchasing a suitable plot of land on Mulberry Street not far from Deansgate.
Intentionally positioned in one of Manchester's worst areas, St. Mary's was built to serve the poorest of the city's population and was officially opened on November 30th 1794 with Father Edward Kenyon, who had been assistant to Father Broomhead, becoming the first Rector. Contrary to popular local myth the church was never built in secret or meant to be hidden, in fact Mulberry Street, although in a deprived area, was actually a busy residential and commercial thoroughfare and the church's opening was announced in the local newspapers.
When Father Kenyon left St. Mary's to take charge of Pleasington Priory, Blackburn, in 1816 he was succeeded by Father Thomas Lupton who was in turn succeeded by Father Henry Gillow in 1822. In 1833 Father Gillow decided to have the building re-roofed and redecorated with the help of some of the congregation who were in the building trade but without employing a master builder to oversee the project, a decision which was to prove very unwise. Just two years later, on August 8th 1855, a large crack appeared in the dome above the altar; the church was closed and locked up and later that evening the whole dome and part of the roof collapsed, damaging the structure itself and much of the interior. With the church unusable services were moved to the school in nearby Lloyd Street and the search started for a new site for St. Mary's.
Father Gillow died in the Manchester typhus epidemic of 1837; he was succeeded by Father J Billington but plans for a new church site were put on hold. Father Mathias Formby took over in 1844 and the decision was finally taken to rebuild St. Mary's on the existing site, with Father Formby making the arrangements. Designs by architects Weightman & Hadfield of Sheffield were approved with Matthew Ellison Hadfield overseeing the rebuild; St. Mary's was completely demolished and rebuilding began that year. Rhenish Romanesque in style, the new St Mary's was completed in 1848 and formally opened in October that year.
Mosaic entrance porch
In 1869 Father John Newton became Missionary Rector of St. Mary's and along with having the adjacent presbytery remodelled in a Venetian Gothic style he also commissioned sculptor Mr Lane of Preston to design and carve the intricately decorated high altar, side altar and shrine of Our Lady of Manchester. It was as a result of these carvings that the church first came to be known as the 'Hidden Gem' when Bishop Herbert Vaughn, who became the second Catholic Bishop of Salford in 1872, commented that ''no matter on which side of the church you look, you behold a hidden gem'' - the description was so appropriate that the name stuck and has been used ever since.
Medieval font obtained from Germany by Bishop Vaughn
Side chapel with Pieta centrepiece
Shrine of Our Lady of Manchester
Stained glass window in the shrine
After the First World War a memorial meeting room was constructed above the south aisle of the church, accessible by an internal stairwell in the church tower as well as from the second floor of the presbytery. The church was designated a list building in 1963 then a few years later various alterations to the sanctuary included a new lectern and altar though the reredos was left intact.
Decorative panels in the porch screen
In 1993/94 both the church and presbytery had a thorough restoration and the Stations of the Cross, a series of 14 contemporary paintings, were commissioned from noted religious artist Norman Adams RA to be installed on each side of the nave in 1995. Now I admit that a lot of modern art is beyond me as much of it bears no resemblance to what it's supposed to be and these paintings, to me at least, are a case in point. I liked them for their bright colours, in complete contrast to the rest of the church's interior, but most of them were hideous and enough to give a small child nightmares so I only photographed a few.
In the 19th century Father George Ignatius Spencer, an ancestor of Diana, Princess of Wales, preached at St. Mary's and during the 20th century the church grew to be known by Catholics far and wide. The world famous Italian opera star Beniamino Gigli (1890-1957) once sang at High Mass and the church has also been the subject of paintings by L.S.Lowry and Salford artist Harold Riley.
Although when St. Mary's was originally built it was never meant to be hidden, progress through the years means that it's now surrounded by much taller buildings, some only built fairly recently, but with its beautiful interior and calm peaceful atmosphere it really is a Hidden Gem.
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