St. Barnabas Rodney Street Oldham Road Ancoats.

MANCHESTER - On Monday 28th March, the first stone of a new church, situate in Rodney‑street. Oldham‑road. was laid by Robert Gardener Esq. This church is the fourth of those now in course of erection by the Association for the Building and Endowing of Ten Churches in the Boroughs of Manchester and Salford. Mr. Richard Tattersall is the architect. The Norman style of architecture has been adopted, and both the exterior and interior of the building will be of a highly ornamental character. The church is in the shape of a parallelogram, whose external dimensions are about 78 feet long by 52 feet wide, with a chancel at the east end about 27 feet wide, and projecting 12 feet; at the westerly end there is also a projection about 42 feet wide, and projecting about 20 feet, which contains the entrances to the ground floor and to the galleries, as well as two staircases to the latter, betwixt which. and over the entrances, will be a recess for the organ and choir. The whole exterior of the building will be faced with stone from the Summit delphs, which is to be neatly hammer‑dressed, except the ashlar dressings, which are to be neatly tooled. The westerly projection will be flanked by two turrets, terminating in pyramidal weathered pinnacles, surmounted by the old Norman cross, at a height of 66 feet above the level of the street. Betwixt the turrets there will be a boldly recessed arch, supported by small columns. The three chief compartments in the west front are surmounted by archivolt mouldings. In the west gable is a moulded opening for a clock dial, this gable terminates with coping. with chevron cut edges, sustaining a large Norman cross at the apex. Each side of the church is divided into six compartments, with a light in each; each compartment is separated by flat buttresses, terminating in moulded weatherings, and a flat segmental arch with filleted mouldings, turned over each compartment betwixt the buttresses. The chancel stands out quite distinct from the church, being roofed at a lower level, and there will be an eight light circular window in the upper part thereof, and four narrow loop lights in the lower part. The east end of the church will also have a large Norman cross on the apex of the coping thereon, and the whole is to be finished to correspond with the west gable. The recess formed at each end of the interior of the church by the projections outside, will be divided from it by large enriched arches similar to the one in the west front. Although the accommodation required, and the amount to be expended, rendered the introduction of galleries absolutely necessary, great pains have been taken to render them as little objectionable as possible; for this reason the west gallery front will not be carried more than five feet into the church, so that on entering the same nearly the whole of the interior, together with the roof, may be at once seen. On the south side of the west entrance will be the baptistry, with a Norman font, sufficiently large for immersion. In the interior of the upper part of the gable at the west end f the church there is a preparation for a clock dial, to be moved by the same works that move the dial in the west front, and which will also serve for ventilating the church; and there will be enriched ornament in the east gable to correspond, and also for the purpose of ventilation. The church will have an open timbered roof; the tie‑beam of each truss is thrown up about five feet above the lower ends of the principal rafters, where they set down upon the side walls, and the space betwixt the top side of the beams and the under-side of the principal rafters is divided into three compartments, by two queen posts, under which are placed enriched pendants, from which proceed curved and moulded ribs, and are continued down the side walls, until they set down upon the capitals of moulded corbels therein, the top side of the capitals being four feet below the bottom ends of the principal rafters in side walls. To avoid the danger of any lateral pressure from this form of truss, cast‑iron brackets are enclosed within the curved ribs, and are continued a sufficient distance on the tie-beam, so as eventually to convey the whole weight of the roof down upon the stone corbels in the side walls, on which the cast‑iron brackets are also made to set down. In the centre compartment, formed by the queen posts in each truss, will be a semi-circular curved rib. bolted to the principal rafters. The common rafters are to be wrought and chamfered, and the boarding will be wrought on account of being exposed to view. As the pitch of the roof is made to suit the character of the building, this mode of finishing will give great additional height to the interior, and add considerably to the effect, and at a less cost than the more customary horizontal ceiling. The church will afford sittings for 1,075 persons; nearly one‑half will be free. The entire cost of the church will be under £3.400. [Civil Engineer and Architects Journal June 1842 page 211]

Reference    Manchester Guardian 30 March 1842 page 2
Reference    Civil Engineer and Architects Journal June 1842 page 211
Reference    Manchester Guardian 27 November 1844 page 6
Reference    Manchester Guardian 30 November 1844 page 4