Stained Glass of Percy Bacon & Brothers

St Mary's Crumpsall. Designed by J. S. Crowther and built in 1874-5. Interior, circa 1900.
Public domain image.

Location of St Mary's Church, with the rectory to its north east on a map published in 1922.
Map extract reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

St Mary's Crumpsall. Viewed from the south side of St Mary's Rd. (now St Mary's Hall Rd.) on open land before the houses on the south side were built. Circa 1910.
PD Image.

St Mary's Crumpsall. Viewed from Eaton Road. From a postcard dated 1903 in the author's collection. PD Image.

St Mary's Crumpsall. Viewed from Eaton Road. Circ 1910.
PD Image.

St Mary's Church, Crumpsall 1875-1978. Interior. The church was demolished in 1977.

Posted 01 March 2023.

The first church in Crumpsall dedicated to St Mary, was built in 1859 to the designs of Messrs. Mangnall and Littlewood of Manchester (description here).
Article published in the Manchester Courier - Saturday 17 December 1859, p7.

"CONSECRRATION OF ST. MARY'S CHURCH CRUMPSALL".

"Yesterday afternoon the new church dedicated to St. Mary, at Higher Crumpsall, was consecrated by the Lord Bishop of Manchester. There was a numerous congregation, notwithstanding the excessive cold and fog, which covered every tree and spray with a delicate white blossom-like covering of rime. The church was completely warmed. The bishop was attended by his chaplain, Rev. Canon Stowell, and his secretary, Mr. Burder. There were many clergymen present in their robes, including the Rev. J. B. Wyld, Rev. James Bardsley, Rev. R. E. Brooke, Rev. F. B. Wright, Rev. A. Howarth, &c.

"The church is a neat and commodious structure, and stands upon commanding ground. The style of architecture is the geometric decorated, which dates as early as 1280, after which, according to good authorities, Gothic architecture declined. The plan of the church includes nave and aisles, chancel with south aisle, and vestry and organ gallery in the north. There is a tower, but it is of no great elevation. The pulpit is of stone, round, with a tapering base, richly sculptured with foliage, &c, in excellent taste. Pillars of marble encircle the pulpit, and the book board is formed by a gilded eagle. The reading desk is of oak, and is placed at the right side of the pulpit, which is in the centre. The font of stone, with neat elaborate detached shafts. The communion railing is of wrought-iron work in a pattern of scroll and leaves; the whole, except the brass handrail, being painted and gilt. The pews thoughout the church are made of handsomely grained pitch pine, and are without doors; the backs of the seats being well sloped. The gas lighting has been made to conduce to the ornamental effect of the interior —consisting of polished brass standards, with foliaged scrolls in the nave, and a Corona Lucis, or chandelier of the largest size, with about 48 lights in the chancel. The builders employed under Messrs. Travis and Mangnall, the architects, are:—Messrs. Ellis and Hinchliffe, masons; Mr. Thompson, of Hulme, joiner; Mr. Ward, plasterer and painter; Messrs. Kirkley, slaters; Messrs. Hulme and Gaskell, plumberß and glaziers; Messrs. Lewis and Hibbert supplied the gas standards, &c.

"The pillars of the nave and chancel are of solid polished stone, with moulded capitals. The heads of the windows throughout are filled with handsome tracery, and are of two lights in the north and south walls of the aisles, of three lights in the east and west walls, of four lights in west wall nave or tower, and a noble five-light window occupies the east end of the chancel. The whole have stained glass margins and tracery, and are filled with cathedral glass. The roof timbers are arranged in ornamental forms, handsomely moulded, and are all visible from below. Care has been taken to remedy the defect of the cold down draughts incident to these roofs; the whole of the surface between the slating and boarding having been covered with thick felting; and, as an additional precaution against draughts, double sets of doors are provided to all the entrances of the church.

"Ihe prayers and lessons at the consecration were read by the incumbent, the Rev. T. W. Wyld. The petition for consecration set forth that there was much need of further church accommodation in the township of Crumpsall. The district that had been duly assigned to the new church contained a population of 3,600 persons, the majority of whom were of the poorest class. The land for the church had been given the Earl of Wilton, together with a donation of £500. The remaining funds had been contributed by the wealthy inhabitants of the neighbourhood. The building had cost £5,200. There were 439 free seats, and 337 pews. There will be a voluntary choir; the treble part to be sustained by boys. The Rev. Canon Stowell preached the consecration sermon. His text was Upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Matthew, chap. 16, part of the 8th verse.

"The followmg is the scheme of the organ, which has been erected by Messrs. Kirtland and Jardine :— GREAT ORGAN-CC to F in alt., notes. 1. Open diapason. 2. Stopned diapason—Bass 3. Shopped diapason—Treble. 4. Principal. 5. Flute. 6. Fifteenth. 7. Clarinet. SWELL ORGAN—C to f alt., 42 notes. 8. Bourdon. 9. Open diapason. 10. Stopped diapason. 11. Principal. 12. Fifteenth. 13. Oboe. PEDAL ORGAN—CCC to C. 14. Grand bourdon, 16ft. COUPLERS. ) 15. Swell to great. 16. Great to pedals".
This was destroyed by fire caused by a lightning strike to the spire in the early hours of 4th January 1872, an incident reported widely in the UK and Ireland. The report in the Cork Constitution of 8th January 1872 vividly describes the whole incident.¹

Article published in the Cork Constitution, 8th January 1872:

"A CHURCH DESTROYED BY LIGHTNING"

"Early on Thursday morning Manchester was visited by an unusually heavy storm of wind and hail, thunder and lightning. The wind rose about half-past eleven o'clock Wednesday night, and continued to blow until the thunderstorm was over, about half-past four o'clock, after which there was an almost immediate lull. The lightning flashes were very vivid, and the thunder rolled with unmistakable indications of the nearness of the electricity.

"Shortly after four o’clock, when the storm was at its height, a flash of lightning struck St. Mary’s Church, Higher Crumpsall, and, the church taking fire, it was completely destroyed before the flames could be extinguished. The following are some of the particulars of this extraordinary accident.

"About the hour mentioned, Mr. Summers, gentleman on visit to some friends who resided at the end house in Parsonage Place, Crumpsall (near the church), was awoke by hearing the church bell ring. The vivid flashes of lightning presently caused him to suspect that the steeple [had] ignited. Against this theory there is the fact that [the] steeple had been struck. He got up, and, going out, saw that his surmise was correct, and also that the vestry, situated at the other end of the church, was already on fire. The rectory being near the church, he feared that the fire might be communicated to it in some way. With the assistance of Mr. Wilkes, one of the churchwardens, who was among the first on the ground, he therefore roused the inmates, consisting of the family and domestics of the rector, the Rev. H. Cottam, that gentleman himself being in London. Examination showed that the cellar of the house was actually on fire, the lightning having evidently passed by means of a small gas pipe from the vestry to the cellar. A portion of the pipe between the church and the house was found melted, showing the course which the lightning had taken. An explosion had taken place, but by promptly shutting off the gas and a copious use of water the fire in the cellar was extinguished and the rectory was saved.

"Not so with the church, however. It is said that had the means of putting out the flames been at hand when the fire was discovered a few buckets of water might probably have sufficed to extinguish it before very serious damage was done. The misfortune of missing this opportunity is attributed by some to the officers at the Cheetham fire station having refused the use of their hose. It is said the reason given for the refusal was that the site of the burning church was beyond their district. Owing to these circumstances, some delay occurred, but as soon afterwards as possible, a message was sent to the central fire station, in Jackson’s Row, from which such a portion of the city brigade as could be spared was promptly dispatched to Crumpsall, under charge of Engineer Moulton. Upon their arrival, the firemen found that the flames had crept along the open timber roof of the church, and taken such a hold of the building that it was very unlikely they could be mastered. The bright glare of the fire, and the alarm which had speedily spread through the district, attracted many residents in the vicinity. Abundance of help was thus forthcoming, but assistance was of very little avail. The whole building was hopelessly enveloped in flames, and the roof soon fell in. When the fire finally extinguished, or rather exhausted for want of something further to feed on, only the bare walls of the church remained standing, and it may be found on inspection that some of these, especially the inner ones, are not altogether safe. The organ, pulpit, reading desk, pews, and indeed all the woodwork or anything else that could burn, were reduced to ashes. Even the masonry which remains standing was not only much calcined, but also chipped by the great heat and falling debris.

"From the fact of the bell having sounded, as well as from the sharpness the lofty spire, it is conjectured that the lightning first struck the steeple, and thence attracted by some gas pipes in the vestry at the other end of the church, where surplices and other articles would be readily. The spire is furnished with a lightning conductor, which ought to have led the electric current harmlessly into the ground. Another circumstance which would seem to show that the flash first struck the vestry is the fact that the steeple has not been seriously damaged, except as far as the electric clock, the belfry, and the decorations of its lower arch are concerned.

"The church which was only insured for £2,000, was built in 1858. The edifice was fitted with nearly 100 sittings, and the internal decorations were of somewhat ornate description. From wall to wall the church measured 87ft by 58ft in breadth, and it originally cost about £5,000; to which must be added £350 as the cost of the beautiful stained glass east window, which was a gift, £4O for a memorial window in memory of the late rector (the Rev. Mr. Wylde), and £350 for the organ. About five years ago the spire was added, at a cost of £1,530, which brings the total expenditure upon the church to the amount of £7,300.

"Since the above was written it has been ascertained that the lightning conductor which passed outside the spire the level of the roof, entered a down spout. This spout was on the outside, parallel to a gas pipe on the inside proceeding from a meter close to where the lightning conductor would enter the ground. The presumption, therefore, is that at some point--probably below the ground—the conductor was in actual contact with the gas pipes, by which unquestionably the fire gained possession the church".

The destruction of the church resulted in a great deal of hand-wringing, not least because the church had been underinsured by a considerable margin, but also the fire started due to inadequate earthing of the lightning conductor and the fact that it was touching a metal gas pipe which entered the church via the vestry. It was the melting of this pipe and release of gas which caused such a catastrophic fire, exacerbated by a lamentable and tardy reaction by the local fire brigade. Public opprobrium of the fire brigade was swiftly delivered. The day following the fire, one annonymous correspondent to the Manchester Evening News commenting on the reported inaction of the brigade, stated in somewhat strident tones; "Surely, Sir, there must be some other explanation of their conduct; if not, the sooner we get rid of these monsters from our midst the better".² Doubtless the embarassment resulting from the fire brigade's failure, which was attributed (fairly or unfairly) to such a devastating loss did not fall upon deaf ears. Within 6 months, the Local Board had provided, at public expense, an engine, equipment, uniforms and helmets to establish a small "amateur" team for the district.³

Further repercussions were to come, however. At a meeting on the 9th January 1872 presided over by the Bishop of Manchester, the Right Rev. James Fraser D.D. the Chairman stated that he hoped all churchwardens throughout the diocese would take warning from what had happened in Crumpsall, and would see that their structures—now that the rate of insurance was so very low —were insured to their full value.⁴ In 1884 the bishop reinforced this message when he delivered a Charge at the fourth visitation of his diocese. Perhaps the message had to be reinforced, and it would seem harsh to suggest the bishop lambasted his deans, churchwardens and the parocialism of rural parishes, for not adequately acting upon the earlier warning, as he did so in most agreeable tones. However, lambast them he did. In the matter of the destruction of St Mary's, and by directly naming that church, his unrestrained irritation at the lack of insurance for the building, and money wasted on decoration rather than necessary repair was not concealed:

The new church. Circa 1910. PD Image.

Despite The Builder's optimistic reporting on 20^th January 1872 that, "the total amount of damage done is estimated at fully £3,000, which, it is stated, will be nearly covered by the insurance", initial estimates to repair the basic fabric of the building were between £5,000 and £6,000 plus 25% (the cost of the original church with inflation added), all of which would need to be collected in subscriptions. By 9th January 1872, £1,200 had been pledged,⁶ but with only £2,300 of insurance money, and even if the main body of the church could have been saved, a great deal of money raising would still be required. However, it soon became apparent that a wholesale rebuilding of the church would be required, at far greater cost than first envisaged; over £12,000 in fact.⁷

In due course Joseph Stretch Crowther, the diocesan architect, was engaged. He designed a church significantly larger than the original, one sufficient to seat 800 worshippers. It was consecrated on Saturday 4th January 1875 by the Bishop of Manchester, three years to the day of its destruction. In 1977 the church was closed having been joined with the adjacent parish of St Matthew, and demolished. The site is now occupied by housing association flats, but the rectory, although converted to flats, still remains. No information has yet come to light on the whereabouts of any of the works carried out by Percy Bacon & Brothers.

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Only reports of the works of the Bacon Studios now remain, as the work is lost. These were some of the earliest commissions for the studio, the first being the chancel wall paintings, which were carried out in August or September 1893. Percy Bacon had worked with the church's architect, Joseph Crowther on the baptistery windows in Manchester Cathedral as early as December 1892. It is possible that Crowther had recommended Bacon to St Mary's prior to his death in March of 1893, and before the restoration of the cathedral was complete. Percy Bacon would later return to St Mary's in 1895 and 1897 to complete commissions for stained glass windows.

1. Cork Constitution; Monday 08 January 1872, p3.
2. Letter to the Manchester Evening News, Friday 7th January 1872.
3. An Amateur Fire Brigade for Crumpsall. Manchester Evening News - Monday 03 June 1872 , p2.
4. Manchester Times, Saturday 13th January 1872.
5. Fraser, James; Bishop of Manchester: A charge delivered at the fourth visitation of his diocese at Manchester, Lancaster and Blackburn, on the 5th, 6th and 7th November, 1884.
6. Manchester Evening News - Tuesday 09 January 1872 , p2. Report on the rebuilding of the church.
7. John Bull, Saturday 11 December 1875, p6.
8. The Builder 1893-09-23: Vol 65 Iss 2642, p231.
9. The Builder Vol 69 21 Sept 1895.
10. The Builder 1897-07-31: Vol 73 Iss 2843, p95.