Stained Glass of Percy Bacon & Brothers

Cheetham St Saviour. Map of 1888 showing its location on Park Street.

Cheetham St Saviour. Map of 1915 showing little had changed in the intervening years. Very few of the buildings surrounding the church (a mix of working-class residential and industry) survive today, but as of June 2023 The public house on the corner of Dutton Street and Park Street was still standing.

Map showing St Saviour's Mission Church (highlighted) on Park Street just off Cheetham Hill Road. Courtesy of Manchester University. Creative Commons: CC-BY-NC-SA license.⁴

Posted 18 February 2024

Very little information regarding St Saviour's has so far been found. More will be added as it becomes available. The map shows the location on Park Street at the southern end of Cheetham Hill Road (at the time of writing a location now occupied by a car park). The church was originally a Lutheran (German) Chapel. In 1879 the chapel was acquired by Dean Cowie, (Dean of Manchester from 1872 to 1883) and converted for Anglican worship, becoming a mission church to the Cathedral Parish, seating 200.¹ Due to the diligent minitrations of the first incumbernt, the Rev S. Hailstone, the congregation grew, and by 1884 had reached such a number that the church had to be extended. Joseph Stretch Crowther, the diocesan architect drew up plans and, having secured the necessary funds, the works were reported as commencing in August 1886.²

Somewhat bizarrely the church was never consecrated as explained by a curious paragraph in Dobbs' and Ralph's book, "Like a Mighty Tortoise" of 1978:³

The church was closed in 1945 and for some time after used as a printing works. Though exact dates are not known, in January 1947 it was being reported that the church's new owner, a Mr Nemeth of the firm of I. H. Nemeth had been reluctant to purchase the building, but after being assured by the Bishop [of Manchester] that the church had never been consecrated decided to buy it.⁵ The report also stated that the pews had been removed and church steeple taken down, but makes no mention of the fate of the stained glass.

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Piecing together contemporary newspaper reports it seems the original chapel had a chancel and nave, but no aisles. A report in the Manchester Evening News on 2^nd December 1886, just as the enlargement works were commencing, mentions plans to extend nave and chancel.² These works were expected to be completed by the spring of 1887. The date of the building of the earlier Lutheran Chapel is still uncertain, but the best estimate is sometime in the 1860s.⁶ By overlaying the 1888 map above which shows the enlarged church and an earlier map of 1848, it must have been built some time after that. The church was actually built on the site of what was, at least in 1848, a large body of water, or pond (shown in blue on the map below), possibly attaching to Strangeways Hall on Great Ducie Street. Strangeways Prison (now HMP Manchester) opened in 1868. Neither is the date of the church's demolition certain, as no information has been found to confirm this. An OS 1inch map of 1961 records a church without spire or tower on the street, so it is likely that it was still standing at that date.

Map of 1848 with a body of water shown in blue, overlaid with the map of 1888 showing relative location of the englarge St Saviour's Church on Park Street (coloured yellow). In 1848 what is now Cheetham Hill Road was called York Street.
Although the maps of 1848 and 1888 indicate that the area was then substantially residential with rows of terraced houses, substantial properties on York Street, and a park, the area is now wholly industrial.
Courtesy of Manchester University. Creative Commons: CC-BY-NC-SA license.

Map of 1848 with a body of water shown in blue, overlaid with the map of 1888 showing relative location of the englarged St Saviour's church coloured yellow. In 1848 what is now Cheetham Hill Road was called York Street.

Percy Bacon was commissioned to install at least five of the windows in the church. However, these were not to be executed until 1897, a few years after Crowther's death in 1893. Percy Bacon had previously worked with Crowther when he was restoring Manchester Cathedral in 1892-93, one of Bacon's earliest commissions. The following works in St Saviour's Mission Church are recorded:

1. Report in the Manchester Courier - 27th February 1892, p3 has some more detailed history. A transcript of the report is appended to the notes below..
2. Reports in the Manchester Evening News - 5th August 1886, p2, & 5th March 1884, p2,
3. https://www.oldmapsonline.org/
4. Rev. Dobbs, A.J. and Mr Ralph, D: Like a Mighty Tortoise, 1978, p214.
5. Report in the Manchester Evening News, 23 January 1947, p6: "Church Will Soon be Printing Works".
6. The "Park Street Chapel, Cheetham" is mentioned in a report in the Manchester Courier - 4^th May 1867, p9.

Notes:

• Report in the Manchester Courier - 27th February 1892, p3 has some more detailed history;
  
  CHURCH MISSION WORK IN CHEETHAM. A two day's sale of work was opened yesterday afternoon in St. Saviour's Mission Room, Park-street, Cheetham, with the object of reducing the debt on the mission and schools. It is hoped to realise a sum of about £80. The room has been tastefully arranged, and upon some half stalls are to found large assortment of useful articles. The sale was formally opened the Rev. S. Hailstone, Curate-in-Charge of the mission, who stated that [when] the mission was originated by the Very Rev. Dr. Cowie in 1879, he (the speaker) was appointed to take charge, and since that time he had resided on the premises. At first it seemed a forlorn hope; the buildings were in a wretched condition, and many people, some of whom might have been expected give help, looked on with sinister glances at the prospect of the mission. When friends of the Church, however, saw that an effort was being made, gradually a congregation filled the church. Sunday schools were next started, and all the usual parochial agencies came into operation. Then came the need of enlargement of church. When it was started there was a debt of £1.800 on the buildings they stood, but after much effort the work was accomplished at a cost of about £2,000. But where, he asked, had the money come from? It had come from hard work of the people as represented the sales of work of which they had had plenty, and it had come from the liberality of outside friends, especially from Mr. Oliver Mr. C. J. Heywood, and Mr. Henry Boddington, trustees of the property. He was often astonished at the remark so frequently made to him, "I suppose your expenses are all defrayed by the Cathedral?" He wished it to be understood that not one penny came from the Cathedral revenues or except in the way of occasional subscriptions from the Cathedral as parish church. Once in Dean Cowie's days the Sunday offertory was given towards their funds, and in the early days of St. Saviour's some help came from the evening service, but that had ceased for many years, and St. Saviour's was thrown upon its own resources. It was difficult forecast the future of the mission, and the time might very soon come when definite action must be taken. As far as he could see the mission could be worked if the stipend of a curate were found. After all the labour and money which had been spent for nearly 13 years, it would seem to be disgrace to the Church if the work had to be relinquished. (Applause). During the day the sale of work was well patronised, and the evening musical programme was submitted.
  

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