St Maxentius' Church, Bradshaw facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St Maxentius' Church, Bradshaw
West end of St Maxentius' Church, Bradshaw
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OS grid reference	SD 736,122
Location	Bradshaw, Bolton, Greater Manchester
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Website	St Maxentius, Bradshaw
History
Status	Parish church
Consecrated	9 November 1872
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade II (free-standing tower)
Designated	27 January 1967
Architect(s)	E. G. Paley (church)
Architectural type	Church
Style	Gothic (tower) Gothic Revival (church)
Groundbreaking	1863
Completed	1872
Administration
Parish	Bradshaw
Deanery	Walmsley
Archdeaconry	Bolton
Diocese	Manchester
Province	York

St Maxentius' Church is a special church located in Bradshaw, near Bolton in Greater Manchester, England. It is an active Anglican church, which means it belongs to the Church of England. This church is unique because it is the only one in England named after Saint Maxentius, a saint from France.

An older stone tower stands separately from the main church building. This tower is a reminder of earlier churches that stood on this spot.

History of St Maxentius' Church

People have worshipped at this location for a very long time. The first records of a church here date back to 1641–42. However, a map from 1610 already showed a small chapel. This early church was dedicated to Saint Mary.

Over the years, the church building needed repairs. In 1770, a new church was built using brick and stone. But by the mid-1800s, this church was also getting old and too small for everyone who wanted to attend.

So, a new, bigger church was planned. It was designed by a famous architect named Edward Graham Paley. Building the new church took a while, starting in 1863 and finishing in 1872. It was officially opened and blessed on November 9, 1872, by the Bishop of Manchester, James Fraser.

Why is it called St Maxentius?

St Maxentius' Church is the only church in England dedicated to this particular French saint. People have wondered why.

In 1899, a group of history experts visited the church. They saw the old tower next to the newer church. The local vicar, Revd R. K. Judson, was there. One of the experts, Colonel Gilbert J. French, thought the church might have been named after a Norman saint because of the area's history.

After William the Conqueror took over England, his cousin, Roger de Poictou, became a powerful lord in the Bolton area. Since Saint Maxentius lived most of his life in a region of France called Poitou, Colonel French believed this connection might explain the church's unusual name. This suggests that a church might have been here even earlier than the 1600s.

Church Architecture and Design

The church building has a style called "Decorated Gothic." This means it has fancy designs, especially in its windows.

Inside the Church Building

The church is shaped like a cross when you look at it from above. It has a long main hall called a nave, two side sections called transepts, a special area for the altar called a chancel, and a room for the clergy called a vestry. At the front (west end) of the church, there's a small tower for bells, known as a bellcote.

The roof of the nave is a special type called a hammerbeam roof, which looks very grand. The font, used for baptisms, is shaped like an octagon and dates back to 1550.

In the north transept, there is a beautiful mosaic from the 1960s. It shows scenes from the life of Saint Maxentius. The church also has lovely stained glass windows. Two of them were made by a company called Shrigley and Hunt. The large window at the east end, from 1896, was likely designed by Almquist. In the south transept, there's an abstract window from the 1950s, possibly by R. Hayes.

The Old Tower

The separate tower is much older than the main church, built around 1640. It is made of rough stone blocks. The tower has two main levels and strong supports called buttresses at its corners. At the very top, there's a decorative edge called a cornice and a wall with gaps, known as a battlemented parapet.

On the east side of the tower, there are two doors. On the north side, there's a window that used to have two lights but is now blocked up. The openings where the bells are have rounded tops. This old tower is considered an important historical building and is protected as a Grade II listed building.

Churchyard Features

The churchyard, which is the area around the church, is a peaceful place. It contains the graves of six soldiers who died in World War I and one soldier from World War II. These graves are cared for by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

See also

• List of churches in Greater Manchester
• List of ecclesiastical works by Paley and Austin