St Augustine's Church, Pendlebury facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Augustine's Church |
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St Augustine's Church
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| 53°30′39″N 2°19′21″W / 53.5107°N 2.3224°W | |
| Location | Pendlebury, Greater Manchester |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Churchmanship | Anglo-Catholic |
| History | |
| Dedication | St Augustine |
| Consecrated | May 1874 |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | Grade I |
| Architect(s) | George Frederick Bodley |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Gothic Revival |
| Groundbreaking | 1871 |
| Completed | 1874 |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Red brick |
| Administration | |
| Parish | Swinton and Pendlebury |
| Deanery | Eccles |
| Archdeaconry | Salford |
| Diocese | Manchester |
| Province | York |
St. Augustine's Church is an active Anglican church located in Pendlebury, Greater Manchester, England. It is named after St Augustine. This church is part of a group of local churches, including St Peter's Church in Swinton and All Saints' Church in Wardley. It belongs to the larger diocese of Manchester.
The church was first given a special heritage protection status in 1966. This status, called Grade II*, means it is an important historical building. Later, its status was upgraded to Grade I, showing it is a building of exceptional importance.
People sometimes call St. Augustine's the "Miners' Cathedral" because it looks very grand, almost like a cathedral. This name came about because it was built in an area that used to have many coal-mining communities. Locally, some people also affectionately called it "Gussie's". The church is found on Bolton Road and has a primary school connected to it.
Contents
How St. Augustine's Church Was Built
A banker from Manchester named Edward Stanley Heywood asked G. F. Bodley to design the church. This happened in March 1870. The first stone of the church was laid in September of that same year. The church was officially opened and ready for use in May 1874.
Mr. Heywood paid for almost everything: the building itself, its decorations, and all the furniture inside. The church was built by Bodley and Thomas Garner between 1871 and 1874. It cost about £3,300 at the time.
Bodley had planned to build a tall bell tower on the south-east side of the church. This tower would have been higher than the main roof. However, this part of the design was never built.
What Does St. Augustine's Church Look Like?
The Outside of the Church
The church is made from red bricks and has a roof covered with clay tiles. It also has special stone decorations. The design was inspired by old Gothic cathedrals in France, like those in Albi and Toulouse.
The main part of the church, which includes the nave (where people sit) and the chancel (near the altar), is very long. It has ten sections under one continuous roof. The church has a main door at the front, a small entrance porch on the south side, and a vestry (a room for clergy) on the north side.
The walls have shallow supports called buttresses that stick out. These supports end in triangular tops above the roof's edge. The roof's edge has decorative holes shaped like quatrefoils. The windows in the nave and chancel look different. The nave has windows with three sections, while the chancel has windows with four sections and fancy stone patterns called tracery. The large window at the east end has seven sections and beautiful flowing tracery. The window at the west end has five sections.
The Inside of the Church
Inside, the church has large internal buttresses. These supports have passages through them, forming aisles. They also hold up high arches. The barrel roof above the chancel is beautifully painted with many details.
A very detailed and carved screen, called a rood screen, separates the nave from the chancel. The sanctuary, which is the area around the altar, is raised higher than the rest of the church. The reredos, a decorated screen behind the altar, has painted figures on it. The case for the organ, the rood screen, and the sedilia (seats for the clergy) were all designed by Bodley.
The font, used for baptisms, is very ornate. It sits on a carved stone base and is raised by several steps. Above the font, there is a carved wooden cover hanging from the walls.
Important People and Events
The First Vicar
The first vicar, or priest, of St. Augustine's Church was Doctor Alfred Dewes. He was born in Coventry in 1825 and passed away in Pendlebury in 1911. He served as vicar from the church's opening in 1874 until his death. Dr. Dewes worked tirelessly to help people during outbreaks of diseases like smallpox and cholera. He was always there for the poor and those who were suffering.
The Clifton Hall Colliery Disaster
Both Dr. Dewes and the church played a very important role after a terrible event. On June 18, 1885, there was an explosion at the Clifton Hall Colliery coal mine. This disaster killed 178 men and boys. The church and its vicar became a central place for the community to mourn and find comfort during this very sad time.
The Churchyard
Just below the east window of the church, there is a special memorial. It remembers the 64 victims of the Clifton Hall Colliery disaster who were buried in the churchyard. The churchyard also contains war graves. These are the burial places of twelve service members from the Great War and four from the Second World War.
What's Happening Now at the Church?
In recent years, St. Augustine's Church has had several restoration projects. This includes repairing the brickwork on the southeast side. New facilities like toilets and a kitchen have also been added.
However, the church still needs a lot of work. It requires at least £1 million for repairs to its interior roof and to fix the pointing (the mortar between the bricks) on the outside. English Heritage, an organization that protects historical buildings, considers St. Augustine's Church a very important project. They describe it as being "exceptionally important."
See also
- Grade I listed churches in Greater Manchester
- Listed buildings in Swinton and Pendlebury
Images for kids
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Clifton Hall Colliery disaster memorial.
