Church of All Souls, Astley Street, Blackburn Road, Bolton-le-Moors

A new church is in course of erection in Astley Street, Blackburn road, Bolton le Moors. The church, which is dedicated to All Souls, is being built at a cost of about £20,000 under the will of the late Mr Nathaniel Greenhaigh, of Thornydikes, Sharples, near Bolton. The style of architecture adopted is Transition, between Decorated and Perpendicular, from the drawings of Messrs Paley and Austin, architects, Lancaster. The church will contain 800 sittings.  [Building News 24 September 1880 p369]

The new church of All Souls at Bolton‑le‑Moors will be consecrated by the Bishop of Manchester on the 30th prox. The style of the building is Transitional between Decorated and Perpendicular; the cost has been £21,000, and 800 sittings have been provided. Messrs. Paley and Austin, of Lancaster, are the architects.   [Building News 27 May 1881 p626]

NEW CHURCH AT BOLTON-LE-MOORS. — The new church, dedicated to All Souls, Bolton-le-Moors, will be consecrated by the Bishop of Manchester on June 30. The structure, which is of Gothic transition, between perpendicular and decorated design, from the drawings of Messrs. Paley and Austin, architects, of Lancaster, has been erected at a cost of about £21.000, under the will of the late Mr. Nathaniel Greenhalgh, of Thornydikes, Sharpies, Bolton. Provision has been made for 800 sittings, all of which will be free and unappropriated. [Blackburn Standard 21 May 1881 page 2]

BOLTON - Last week the new church of All Souls, situate in Astley Street, off Blackburn Road, Bolton, was consecrated. The new church, which has been erected from the designs of Messrs Paley & Austin, of Lancaster, is of the Late Decorated period of Gothic architecture. The plan consists of a nave, which is a parallelogram, 86 feet long and 52 feet clear span, without aisles or arcades, but with a tower at the west end, 26 feet square; and at the east end a chancel 40 feet lomg and 25 feet wide, with polygonal end, and north and south aisles, the eastern part of the north aisle being utilised for the organ and that of the south aisle as the choir vestry, with additional clergy vestry on the east. The chancel and its aisles open into the nave with three lofty arches, the chancel arch being 36 feet to its apex. The main object in the plan has been to secure an unobstructed space, as far as possible, the whole church, with the exception of the west tower forming a parallelogram. The total expenditure upon the structure and its accessories has been about £20,000. Adjoining the church are schools, which were erected in 1877, from the designs of Mr J J Bradshaw of Bolton. They have cost about £7,000. [Building News 8 July 1881 Page 42]

All Souls Church, without doubt one of the best ecclesiastical edifices in the diocese of Manchester, is like that of St. Peter’s Halliwell, a view of which we gave a fortnight ago, a noble monument of local munificence on the part of a Townsman, being built by Thomas Greenhalgh Esq of Thornydikes, Sharples, from means bequeathed to him ,as residuary legatee of his late brother, Nathaniel Greenhalgh Esq, who died February 14 1877, and forms part of a scheme by which the latter gentleman gave to Bolton two of the handsomest churches in the town, the second being the Church of the Saviour, now nearing completion in Pikes Lane. The situation of All Souls is admirable, its commanding appearance being visible, through its elevation and colossal proportions, from several distant points. It is easily approached, the north side facing Astley Street, off Blackburn Road., and its west end opening into Wolfenden Street, off Halliwell Road. The church is of the late decorated period of Gothic Architecture. In plan it is exceedingly simple, comprising a nave 80ft by 52 ft, without aisles or arcades, but with a massive tower at the west end.

At the east end a chancel, with north and south sides utilised by the organ and choir vestries. The main object in the plan has been to secure an un obstructed space as far as possible; the whole church, with the exception of the western tower, forming a complete parallelogram. The main walls of the entire structure are of red brick with stone dressings. The ground floor of the tower is devoted to the baptistery, and contains a massive font of yellow Mansfield stone. The chancel floor is paved with white marble, relieved with black marble, diamond shaped. The reredos, which is of Mansfield Stone, contains panels inscribed with the Apostles’ Creed, the Decalogue, and the Lord’s Prayer. The east end of the chancel contains one large and two smaller windows filled with rich stained glass. The principal window in the tower at the west end is also of stained glass, and is unique in design, the colours being of a subdued hue, and it’s six divisions containing representations illustrative of the six days of creation; and a wheel window, representing fruit, is placed on each side of the tower window. The organ, which is by Mr Abbott, of Leeds, is a fine toned instrument, consisting of two complete manuals, and great and swell organ containing 25 stops. Its entire cost was about £700. The tower contains a peal of eight sweet toned bells by the firm of Messrs. J. Taylor and Sons. Loughborough. The peal is the heaviest in Bolton.

The architects of the church were Messrs Paley and Austin of Lancaster, the total expenditure upon the structure and accessories was £20, 000. The accommodation in the church is free and for 800 worshippers, the population for All Souls parish ‑ carved out of the district chapelry of St. James’s, and formed into a new parish on the consecration of the church in 1881‑ is about 4,500. The patronage of the living is vested in five trustees, viz, Messrs Thomas Greenhalgh, Henry Murton, Thomas Pearson, W P Fullagar, and Captain Hesketh. The Rev W Popplewell, MA (Jesus College, Oxford), who was previously incumbent of St Thomas’s, Halliwell, was the first Vicar of the parish, and still holds the living, which is worth ,300 per annum. The substantial stone residence known as Astley Bank, erected by the late Job Stones, Esq, Mayor of Bolton 1832/33, was purchased by Mr. T. Greenhalgh for £2,000, and has been made available as a vicarage house for the benefee. Adjoining the church are handsome schools, erected by Mr T. Greenhalgh at a cost of £6,000, and containing accommodation for 800 scholars. The total outlay for church, school, site, vicarage house and endowments was upwards of £30,000. [The Bolton Journal, Saturday, 6 June 1885]

All Souls has one little defect and that is the echo from the pulpit. The vicar (Rev. G.A. Harper ) has discovered exactly where to throw his voice so as to avoid this. But woe betide a visiting preacher. [Bolton Journal and Guardian Friday 2nd August 1935.]

Reference    Building News 24 September 1880 page 369
Reference    Building News 27 May 1881 p626
Reference    Building News 8 July 1881 Page 42
Reference    Bolton Journal, Saturday, 6 June 1885