OS grid reference SD8985112760 Denomination Roman Catholic Dedication John the Baptist Phone +44 1706 646877 | Country United Kingdom Website RochdaleOnline.co.uk Opened 1927 | |
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Location Rochdale, Greater Manchester Address Dowling St, Rochdale OL11 1EX, UK Diocese Roman Catholic Diocese of Salford Architectural style Byzantine Revival architecture | ||
St John the Baptist Church is a Roman Catholic Parish church in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England. It was founded in 1830, and built in 1927. It is situated on the corner of Maclure Road and Dowling Street, opposite the Greater Manchester Fire Service Museum in the centre of the town. It was built in the Byzantine Revival style and is a Grade II* listed building.
Contents
Foundation
From 1824, a Catholic priest resided in Rochdale. He was Fr William Turner, who later became Bishop of Salford. Originally, Mass was said in a room of a warehouse on Clegg Street. In 1829, St John's Church church was built and opened on Ann Street in Rochdale. Fr Turner was priest until 1835, when he became the priest at St Chad's Church in Cheetham Hill. He was replaced by a Fr Dowling. In 1860, this church was replaced by one made of brick. In 1871, Fr Dowling died and was replaced by a dean, Fr O'Neill. In the late 1800s, as the towns were increasing in population, further Catholic missions were started in the surrounding area. From 1898 to 1937, the priest at St John the Baptist Church was Canon Henry Chipp.
Construction
Canon Chipp sought the construction of a new, larger church to replace the one made of brick. He wanted a church to resemble the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. The architect of St John the Baptist Church was Henry Oswald Hill. His design was influenced by Westminster Cathedral and John Francis Bentley. In 1917, after making the designs for the church, Hill was killed in action in World War One. In 1918, Henry Thomas Sandy bought Hill's architectural firm. In 1920, Ernest Bower Norris joined the practice. In 1922, Sandy died and Norris ran the firm, which became known as Hill, Sandy & Norris, which ceased operations in 1969. St John's Church was the first time Norris had built a Byzantine-style church. From 1962 to 1964, he designed a similar church, St John Fisher Church, in West Heath, West Midlands.
The church was built from 1925 to 1927. The original design for the church had a bell tower, which was never built. From 1930 to 1933, the mosaic in the sanctuary was made. The theme of the mosaic is eternal life. It was designed by Eric Newton of Ludwig Oppenheimer Ltd, cost £4000 and was made by craftspeople in Manchester.
In 1966, a presbytery was built, attached to the north side of the church. The architects for it were Desmond Williams & Associates. In 1998, a residence was added to the side of the church. This was done by demolishing the presbytery and a section of the east transept.
Parish
St John the Baptist Church together with St Gabriel and the Angels Church in Castleton, Greater Manchester, are part of the same parish called the Parish of St Gabriel and the Angels and St John the Baptist. In 1879, St Gabriel and the Angels Church started as a mission from St John the Baptist Church. In 1884, a building housing a chapel and school was built. In 1894, a presbytery was added. In 1951, with the increasing Catholic congregation in the area, the former Princess Cinema in Smalley Street (built in 1900) was bought and adapted to replace the old chapel and became the present St Gabriel and the Angels Church.
St John the Baptist Church has two Sunday Masses, at 5:30pm on Saturday and at 9:30am on Sunday. St Gabriel and the Angels Church has one Sunday Mass at 11:00am.