Building Name

Christ Church Church Street Bradford-cum Beswick

Date
1861 - 1862
Street
Church Street
District/Town
Bradford, Manchester
County/Country
GMCA, England
Partnership
Work
New Build
Status
Demolished

COMPETITION. BRADFORD, LANCASHIRE - In a competition of several Manchester architects for a new church to be built in the populous district of Bradford, Lancashire, the designs of Messrs Hayley & Son were selected and those gentlemen are instructed to proceed at once with the work. The church will have nave, chancel and transepts, with vestry and organ chamber. There will be sittings on the ground floor for 800, and the cost is estimated at about £3,300. The walls are to be of brick, the capabilities of which material are but beginning to be understood in the neighbourhood. [Builder 9 March 1861 Page 165]

The architects of the church are Messrs Hayley and Son of Cross-street, Manchester, and the builder Mr Grason, of Bradford. The edifice will provide accommodation for 1,000 persons (half the seats being free), and, it is anticipated, will be completed by Christmas. ... The style of the church is early geometrical Gothic, and the material to be used is grey brick, relieved with red, and having stone dressings. The nave will be lighted north and south by two windows of two lights each, with small tracery in the head; and the chancel is to have apsidal termination, with three treble-light traceried windows, and at the west end one with five lights. A large traceried window, of the rose shape, will light each of the transepts, which are also to be furnished with doors. The plan includes vestry and organ chamber. There will be a chief west entrance, with lobby, and another door on the south side of the church. The dimensions will be 25 feet in the interior from the floor to the wall-plate; the length 120 feet and the width 45 feet. The roof will be of open timber. The seats are open, of stained deal. ..... The Rev James Bardsley then formally presented to Mr Gladstone a silver trowel bearing the following inscription APresented to Robert Gladstone Esq. on the occasion of the laying of the foundation of Christ Church, Beswick, by the Working Men’s Christian Association of that place, as a grateful and respectful memorial of his most valuable services and substantial aid in the cause of their new church. 1st June 1861.@ [Manchester Guardian 3 June 1861, page 3]

CONSECRATION OF CHRIST CHURCH, BRADFORD AND BESWICK - This church was consecrated on Saturday afternoon by the Lord Bishop of Manchester, who also preached the sermon. The building is the first of a series that has been undertaken under the auspices of the Diocesan Church Building Society with a view to evangelise populous and overgrown districts. The dividing line between Bradford and Beswick passes through the church, which is situated on the south side of the road near the reservoir belonging to the Manchester Corporation. The building is of brick, in the Gothic style, and is singularly free from ornament, within and without. It consists of a nave 45 feet wide, transepts 79 feet from north to south, a chancel terminated by an elliptical apse, and a tower, which is intended at some future day to support a spire. The extreme length is 114 feet. The site was given by Sir Oswald Mosley, Bart. And Mrs Townley Parker: an endowment fund was provided some years ago by the late Lady Arabella Hoghton; and the cost of the building, nearly all of which has been provided has been about £4,500 The church will accommodate about 1,000 individuals, including 200 children in a west gallery. The organ chamber is on the north of the chancel and the vestry on the south. The roof is open, well-timbered, and very lofty. The pulpit is of Caen stone, with polished red marble columns and carved capitals. The reading desk is of oak and the Bible and Prayer Book are placed at different levels, the latter being at a convenient height from the ground for kneeling.  Many of the internal fittings and furniture have been presented by those who have taken an interest in the erection, and by subscriptions from some of the female members of the congregation. The designs were prepared in the office of Messrs Hayley and Son, and the contract was taken by Mr Joseph Grason of Bradford. It is proposed to build a parsonage immediately, for which Mr J. M. Taylor of St Ann’s Churchyard is the architect. [Manchester Guardian 21 April 1862 page 2]

BRADFORD-CUM-BESWICK - Christ Church, Bradford-cum-Beswick has been consecrated. The church is the first in a series which has been undertaken under the auspices of the Diocesan Church Building Society with a view to evangelise populous and overcrowded districts. Sir Oswald Mosley and Mr Townley Parker gave the site. The endowment was provided some time ago by Lady Arabella Houghton. The church has cost about ,4,500. It accommodates in all about 1,000 persons, including 200 children in a west gallery. It consists of one broad nave, transepts, chancel (terminated by a semi-circular apse) with a tower and spire in the north-west. The entrances at the time of Divine service is by north and south doors at the west end, opening into a lobby with double folding doors, which are so arranged as to exclude draughts. At the close of the service five doors are opened to facilitate a speedy exit. The extreme internal length from east to west is 114 feet; the width, measured from north to south is, in the nave 45 feet, and in the transepts 79 feet. The designs were prepared by Messrs Hayley and Son. The contract was let to Mr J Grason of Bradford. The parsonage it is proposed to build immediately, on a plot of land adjoining the church. The architect who has been entrusted with this work is Mr J M Taylor of Manchester. [Builder 26 April 1862 Page 300]

CHRIST CHURCH, BRADFORD-CUM-BESWICK.  This church was consecrated on Saturday. The building is the first of a series that has been undertaken under the auspices of the Diocesan Church Building Society. The building is of brick, in the Gothic style, and is free from ornament, within and without. It consists o a nave 45 feet wide, transepts 79 feet  from north to south, a chancel terminated by an elliptical apse, and a tower, which is intended at some future day to support a spire. The extreme length is 114 ft. The building cost £4,000 and will accommodate about 1,000 individuals. The organ chamber is on the north of the chancel and the vestry on the south The roof is open-timbered, and lofty. The pulpit is of Caen stone, with polished red marble columns and carved capitals. The reading desk is of oak. Many of the internal fittings and furniture have been presented by those who have taken an interest in the erection. The designs were prepared by Messrs Hayley and Son, and the contract was taken by Mr Joseph Grason of Bradford. It is proposed to build a parsonage immediately, for which Mr. J. M. Taylor is the architect. [Building News 25 April 1862 page 295]

The name Bradford-cum-Beswick appears to have been coined by Christ Church, the 19th century church that served the communities of those growing villages to the east of Manchester. Christ Church lay on the corner of Church Street and Cowper Street, on the boundary between the two villages, and it seems reasonable that the church authorities should use this name to describe them. The foundation stone of Christ Church was laid on 1 June 1861, and the church consecrated on 19 April 1862. A District was assigned to it from St Barnabas, Openshaw, by Order in Council, 30 August 1862, (London Gazette, 5 September 1862). The church was demolished as part of the slum clearances in the 1970s. Not included in Pevsner.

Reference    Manchester Courier Saturday 8 June 1861
Reference    Manchester Guardian 3 June 1861 page 3
Reference    Building News 25 April 1862 page 295
Reference    Manchester Guardian 21 April 1862 page 2
Reference    Manchester Courier Saturday 19 April 1862 Page 7
Reference    Builder 26 April 1862 Page 300
Reference    Dobbs