Church of St Alphonsus (RC) Ayres Road/Alphonsus Street Old Trafford

THE BUILDING OF CHURCHES. The church of St Alphonsus, which has cost £15,000 and has room for 600 people, is a building in the Gothic style whose erection is the result of patient effort over nearly a decade, in which the present rector, Father J O’Donnell has played a large part. The exterior has dignity and inside there is a complete unity of design and decoration and harmony of materials, mottled sandstone, Austrian oak, and golden sand plaster finished with a "texture." The general aspect is in marked contrast to the generality of the old Catholic churches, being one almost of austerity, though without coldness. The aisles are processional aisles with arches, and looked at from end to end are impressive. [Manchester Guardian 8 June 1936 page 11]

Similar in form to many of Norris and Reynolds’s Romanesque churches but with pointed arches and traceried windows. See also Rishton.

Opened        Sunday 7 June 1935 by Dr T Henshaw, Bishop of Salford

Reference    Builder 30 November 1934 Page 955
Reference    Builder 26 April 1935 Page 798
Reference    Manchester Guardian 8 June 1936 page 11 - opening
Reference    Builder 2 April 1937 Page 709 724-725 including plan/section
Reference    Pevsner/Hartwell; Lancashire Manchester and the South-East page 651
Reference    Salford Diocese and its Catholic past, a survey by Charles A. Bolton, 1950