Church of St Stephen, Bolton Road, Elton near Bury

A very picturesque group towards the street. Two cross gables to the south, two to the north. Polygonal east apse. The west side is unfinished. Inside the walls are of exposed brick.[Pevsner]

NEW CHURCH AT ELTON – The new church, dedicated to St Stephen, at Elton, near Bury, which has been for some time in progress, is expected to be ready for consecration at the end of next autumn. The structure is of plain Gothic design, from the drawings of Mr G T Redmayne, architect, of Manchester. The cost of the present erection, which is only a portion of the contemplated complete church, will be about £6,000. … In the portion now erected provision has been made for 400 sittings, all of which will be free and unappropriated. The chief promoter of the new church is the Rev Edward Westerman, vicar of Elton. [Blackburn Standard 11 June 1881 page 2]

At the time building works commenced, plans for a much longer building had been approved, but finances were difficult. Thus only a chancel, nave to the extent of three bays, and the lower part of the bell tower were built. Two further bays and the bell tower were to have been built at a later date; but these were never completed as planned and the west wall of the church is still the original 'temporary' construction. The original tender had been for £5,575. When building work began in 1879 only a small amount of the necessary funds had been raised, Fund raising still continued after the consecration of the church on 22nd May 1882.

On 23 June 23rd 1880  the foundation stone at St. Stephen's was laid on the outside of east wall in Belbeck Street, bearing the inscription SS AD 1880. In a cavity in the upper part of the stone was placed a sealed bottle containing parchment inscribed:

"To the Glory of God Most High and in commemoration of St. Stephen, Deacon and Martyr". This memorial stone was laid on Wednesday the 23rd day of June in the year of our Salvation 1880 by the Revd. Edward Westerman, MA., Vicar of the Ecclesiastical District of All Saints' Elton. The site of this Church was the free gift of the Right Hon. Edward Henry, Earl of Derby and the cost of its erection was defrayed by Public subscription, together with the sum of £400, granted by the Manchester Diocesan Church Building Society, and also a sum of £125 by the Incorporated Church Building Society. Signed Edward Westerman, MA., Ralph Parkinson Dinfield; MA., Samuel Walker, George Bradley, James Richardson Crompton, Building Committee. George T. Redmayne   Architect, Richard Woods   Clerk of Works, Thomas Newhouse, Samuel Wrigley   Builders”

Reference    Manchester Guardian Saturday 4 May 1878 Page 1 (Contracts)
Reference    Manchester Courier 18 October 1879 page 11
Reference    Blackburn Standard 11 June 1881 page 2
Reference    ICBS 08235. Grant approved
Reference    Pevsner : Lancashire: South