St. Augustine's Church, Pendlebury
Coordinates: 53°30′38″N 2°19′20″W / 53.51056°N 2.32222°W
St. Augustine's is a High Anglican church in the Diocese of Manchester, once called "The Miners' Cathedral" due to its almost "cathedralesque" stature in the heart of a one time coal mining community. Also sometimes called "Gussie's" by locals.
It is situated just off Bolton Road (A666) in Pendlebury. Its address is 380 Bolton Road, Pendlebury, Manchester, M27 8UX. There is a primary school connected to the church (St. Augustine's C of E Primary School).
It is a Grade I listed building. It was built by George Frederick Bodley between 1871 and 1874, and was generally used by the coal miners and cotton mill workers that lived in the area. It has a capacity of 'hundreds', but nowadays, due to a decline in population and a decline in church attendances across England, the congregation numbers around the 40 mark. Originally, the church was designed to have a bell tower on the southwest side which would have towered higher than the current height of the roof, sadly funds for the church ran out, and the plans for a bell tower were not carried out.
It was described by Professor Nikolaus Pevsner, as being one of the most moving of all Victorian churches, he described the interior as being of "breathtaking majesty and purity" and that it was "one of the English churches of all time". It has a red brick exterior and an exquisite interior roof design, some of which is in need of restoration. It has detailed stained glass windows, as well as an impressive interior which boasts several balconies running the width of the church allowing passage to the old pipe organ which no longer is in use.
It was built largely at the expense of local banker, Edward Stanley Heywood, who donated it for the benefit of the local coal mining community.
The first vicar of the church was Doctor Dewes (b. Coventry 1825; d. Pendlebury 1911), who worked there from its consecration in 1874 until his death in 1911. He worked unceasingly throughout the smallpox and cholera outbreaks, and helped the poor and afflicted. Both vicar and church were the focal point for the mourning following the 1885 Clifton Hall Colliery explosion, in which 178 men and boys were killed[1]. There is a memorial to the 178 killed miners in the churchyard immediately below the east window. The memorial states that, of the 178 of those who perished in the explosion on the 18th of June, 1885, 64 were buried in the churchyard.
In April 1994, George F. Wells, husband to a member of the church's congregation, donated a model painstakingly made entirely from matchsticks, the scale model of the church now sits at the back behind the ornate font which consists of an elegantly carved stone pedestal, raised from the ground by several steps, and a carved wooden hood suspended from the walls.
The church was drawn and painted by L.S. Lowry several times.
Currently, the church is in need of at least £1 million for refurbishments to the interior roof and to repair the pointing on the exterior of the church, and is a priority project for English Heritage, who quote it as being "exceptionally important"[2].
In recent years, several restoration jobs to the church have been carried out, which includes a full re-pointing of the entire southwest side. The church has had building work completed allowing it to now make use of new toilets and a new kitchen, which have been put into use, with many evening events being held, including the annual film night, where the church is dressed and tables set alongside several screens to show the film, with cuisine prepared by the congregation being served afterwards.
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ "English Heritage inspires Greater Manchester to help historic places of worship", Government News Network, retrieved 4 July 2006.
- ^ "The Diocese of Manchester: Handling problems in partnership", English Heritage, retrieved 4 July, 2006.
