Proposed New Cathedral, Manchester

With the exception of London, Manchester is the smallest diocese in England and one of the most industrialised, with a population of over 2.25 million living within its boundaries. It is also one of the most recent in its foundation.

In 1840, the Warden and Fellows of the Collegiate Church were transformed into Dean and Canons, and after several setbacks the diocese was finally brought into being by the Manchester Bishopric Act of 1847. With a population in 1841 of 243,000, Manchester was one of the largest provincial towns in the country and unquestionably suitable to be the see town of a diocese. When the diocese was formed plans were drawn up to build a Cathedral “worthy of such a See as Manchester.” It was to be built on high ground at Cheetwood, to the north at an estimated cost of £100,000 but funds were not forthcoming and the scheme abandoned. Some twenty-five years later the idea re-surfaced. In 1873 a comparatively young R H Carpenter was invited to submit proposals for three schemes under consideration. As noted in The Builder, various plans were discussed: — To retain the present cathedral, making it the nave of the new one; and by raising the clearstory and introducing a blank panelled triforium stage, to bring it somewhat in proportion with the proposed new choir, the octagon lantern. tower at the intersection of the nave, choir, and transepts helping to bring together the somewhat incongruous parts. The second scheme was to do away entirely with the present structure and, retaining the site, to clear away some of the surrounding buildings, and by arching over the river Irwell and placing the church farther west, to make it the centre of a large square, to which the principal thoroughfares of Manchester and Salford should converge. The last scheme was for building the cathedral some distance away from the present one, for which many sites were proposed; one being Infirmary - square. Plans were exhibited in June 1873 when it soon became apparent that there was strong objection to any alteration of the Collegiate church. Further, the proposal to retain the existing nave would have been architecturally disastrous, despite Carpenter’s best efforts.

In an extensive report the Manchester Guardian of 6 May 1873 described the proposals to extend the existing church in some detail. It expressed concern at the cost of acquiring the necessary land (the present Corn Exchange and Mitre Hotel sites), going on to note:

In the first place the present tower is to be raised in height considerably; two transepts spring from its base right and left; that on the right to be used as a consistory court, that on the left probably a probate court. The present entrance portal is to be connected with the street by means of a Galilee with groined roof, somewhat after the model of those at Durham Lincoln, and Ely.  What would be called the conventual buildings in olden times, but now proposed to be used as offices for central diocesan work, schools and lodgings for choristers, committee rooms, library, and chapter house are to be placed in the graveyard and extending into the buildings known as the Mitre Hotel. We apprehend considerable difficulty in carrying out this portion of the work Although these buildings will have a low elevation. still there would be a difficulty about foundations, which we fear would result in considerable Interference with graves. The new cathedral buildings are joined  to the east end of the church by means of an octagonal  lantern, which forms an important feature externally ; eastward from this lantern is the new choir, conceived in a pure style of Gothic architecture, and extending almost to the junction of Fennel Street, Hanging Ditch; and Corporation Street. A glance at the block plan will reveal the fact that to realise this scheme it would necessitate the purchase of the whole of the property bounded by Fennel street, Hanging Ditch, and the passage bounding the east side of the Cathedral graveyard, in addition, to the Mitre Hotel and other property on that side of the yard. We are not prepared to estimate the cost of obtaining this property and land but, supposing It to be obtained at a fair and reasonable price, unless the Corporation of Manchester can see its way to second the effort by the widening of streets and altering the direction of one street, the new buildings will present a built-up appearance, and their fair proportions will be ruined, by overcrowding. Now this is one of the most important points to be considered in building a new cathedral; the edifice must stand in a commanding position, so as to impress by its magnitude and grandeur.

The designers of these plans (which will be shortly exhibited to the public) have had to encounter great difficulties architecturally in their endeavour to tack on to an old parish-church a certain number of buildings which should constitute as a whole what may be designated a cathedral. The sky line produced by the palpable difference in height of nave (old church) and choir or cathedral portion is very objectionable, notwithstanding the adroit and artistic way in which balance has been sought after by the new lantern and the raising of the old tower; but no amount of skill will ever surmount the difficulty. The new portion must be conceived in a purer style than the old specimen of the decline and fall of the finest art the world has ever seen. The new choir cannot be lowered in height to assimilate itself to the old, and therefore on this account alone we should be inclined to pronounce against any attempt to erect the proposed cathedral in connection with the old parish church. The site is not a fit one for the purpose; it lies almost at the bottom of a valley, whereas it ought to occupy the crest of a hill, with its heaven pointing spires, around which the whole city should cluster, and towards which should converge all the higher aspirations of this great community. … To sum up our observation—We would leave the "Old Church" intact with all its historical associations, and seek and obtain a site elsewhere on the higher ground, but still central in position. This may be done, and can be done; and, at some future time, we may have more to say on this all-important question of site for our proposed new Cathedral. [Manchester Guardian 6 May 1874 page 8]

On 10 June 1873 the proposals were exhibited to the public together with a scheme to demolish the “Old Church”  and rebuild on a site extended to the west:

The Chapter propose, in what may be the alternative scheme, to pull down the present building and to erect on the site a cathedral which shall have its front  looking upon a great open square or which the new Deansgate and Victoria-street on the Manchester side, and Chapel-street on the Salford side, will be the main approaches. The Irwell is to be arched over between the bridges; houses and shops on the right bank are to be removed, and from the square, which would thus be created a splendid view of the new cathedral would be obtained. This second plan involves, it will be seen, not only the construction of an entirely new cathedral, but the reconstruction of a considerable portion of the city, and one certainly not the least costly to deal with in such a way. The new plans have been rather hurriedly prepared for exhibition, and they are not yet complete. For instance, there is no general exterior view of the new building, and in the view of the west front the great octagon tower is not seen. In the "old" plans the existing tower was heightened, and a grand central octagon tower was introduced. The objection which was taken at the time - namely, that the great difference in height between the roofs of the old nave and the new choir would have an unsatisfactory effect - was generally commented upon yesterday by professional and " lay" observers; but in the new plan the architects have, of course, been able to design a perfectly harmonious edifice. The western front, with its two massive lofty towers, irresistibly reminds one of York Minster. and the octagon tower suggests reminiscences of "Ely's Stately fane." The western front is a fine piece of work. The towers are considerably higher than those on the western front of York Minster. They are each of four principal stages, and are crowned with lofty pinnacles. The doorways, of which there are three, are deeply recessed and above the central one is a beautiful rose window, 24 feet in diameter. The style of architecture which has been adopted, the Decorated Gothic, gives scope for elaborate ornamentation, of which the architects have fully availed themselves, and the details of the elevation will well repay a close examination. A "view of nave, looking to the choir," gives an imposing representation   of a splendid nave, 180 feet in length by 115½ feet in breadth, the groined roof being 100 feet in height. The central tower remains practically of the same design as in the first plans, but loftier. The octagon is 70 feet by 70, the choir 128 feet long by 34 feet wide, with side aisles 70 feet across. Several chapels, a large diocesan hall, committee-rooms, and other diocesan offices are shown on the plan.  The room in which the designs are exhibited was crowded nearly the whole of the day. [Manchester Guardian; 11 June 1874 page 4]

At the end of July, the Manchester Guardian reported: “At a private meeting of clergymen and leading laymen of the Church of England held yesterday in this city under the presidency of the Bishop of the diocese, the new cathedral project was discussed. The objection to interfere with the Old Church was very strong. The gentlemen present were appointed a committee, and it Is hoped that they will very shortly have some definite plan to lay before the public.”

The Bishop must have been aware that the project had failed to generate a wave of popular enthusiasm. Whether his decision to form a committee of forty to debate the issues was intended to kill off the project may be debated. However, no subsequent reports by the committee have been found while the local press lost all interest. It was left to The Builder to record - The last scheme was for building the cathedral some distance away from the present one, for which many sites were proposed one being Infirmary Square.  This has been translated as Piccadilly Gardens, yet there appears no indication that the Infirmary would be demolished.

Nonetheless, Carpenter continued to refine his proposals into 1875, the drawings finally being published in Building News of 7 and 14 January 1876. Apart from a brief mention in the Manchester Courier, nothing was reported in the local press. By this stage the scheme had become that for a “perfect” cathedral, free from restrictions imposed by the site or by cost restraints.

Reference    Manchester Times 2 May 1874
Reference    Manchester Guardian 6 May 1874 page 8
Reference    Manchester Evening News, 25 May 1874
Reference    Building News 8 May 1874 page 513
Reference    Building News. London, Friday May 29, 1874. Page 577-578
Reference    Manchester Guardian; 11 June 1874 page 4
Reference    Manchester Courier 24 June 1874
Reference    Manchester Evening News 30 June 1874
Reference    Manchester Guardian 30 July 1874 pages 4 and 5
Reference    Building News 7 January 1876 page 1-2
Reference    Bui8lding News 14 January 1876 page
Reference    Builder 11 March 1876 page 238 and interior perspective
Reference    Manchester Courier 10 January 1876 page 6 – reference illustrations in Building News
Reference    Cecil Stewart: The Sones of Manchester, page 128-9 with illustration
Reference    Jonathan Scofield; Lost and Imagined Manchester page 111