Christ Church, Walshaw

Christ Church (grid reference SD775116) is an active church in Walshaw, Greater Manchester, England, and is a Grade II* listed building.[1] Designed in the Gothic Revival style by Lawrence Booth in 1888, the building was funded by Rev John Gorrell Haworth and Miss Nancy Haworth,[1][2] and took four years to complete.[3] It was erected as a memorial to Manchester cotton and fustian manufacturer Jesse Haworth, as noted prominently across the west facade of the building.

Parish of Christ Church, Walshaw
Christ Church, Walshaw
Christ Church from the South West
Parish of Christ Church, Walshaw is located in Greater Manchester
Parish of Christ Church, Walshaw
Parish of Christ Church, Walshaw
Location in Greater Manchester
53°36′01″N 2°20′21″W / 53.600251°N 2.339052°W / 53.600251; -2.339052
OS grid referenceSD 775,116
LocationHigh Street
Walshaw
Bury
Greater Manchester
CountryEngland
DenominationAnglican
ChurchmanshipEvangelical
WebsiteChrist Church, Walshaw
History
StatusParish church
Architecture
Functional statusActive
Heritage designationGrade II*
Designated29 January 1985
Architect(s)Lawrence Booth
Architectural typeChurch
StyleGothic Revival
Construction cost£20 000
Administration
ProvinceYork
DioceseManchester
ArchdeaconryBolton
DeaneryBury
ParishChrist Church, Walshaw

The church is large, with an especially wide nave and has an "admirable" steeple at its southeast corner, visible from the town of Bury in the valley below.[4] The nave is crossed by two broad transepts, each two bays wide. Interior columns are of granite with shaft rings and in places the arcades feature double rows of columns.[4] The windows are in the Gothic style but, as Pevsner notes, they have "un-Gothic transoms."[4]

Internally, the church features a fine circular font, encrusted with stiff-leaf decoration.[4]

The churchyard contains war graves of three soldiers and two airmen of World War II.[5]

Christ Church has connections with the local community, including the church primary school and the local day nursery, and actively supports local voluntary secular and Christian mission agencies including Porch Boxes food bank, Bury Street Pastors, and Bury's CAP Debt Centre. The parish also engages in national and international ministry through its support and partnership with 'Tearfund', the 'Bible Society', 'Compassion' and 'The Bury Project: Christians Against Poverty'.[3]

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ a b Historic England. "Christ Church, Bury (1163417)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  2. ^ "Kelly's Directory; Tottington 1924". Bury Council Archives. Kelly's. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  3. ^ a b "Christ Church,website". Christ Church Walshaw. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d Pevsner, Nikolaus (1969). Buildings of England: South Lancashire. London: Penguin. p. 101.
  5. ^ [1] CWGC Cemetery Report, details from casualty record.
edit