St James-the-Less, Little Newton Street, Ancoats
NOTE The street name was subsequently amended to Little Newton Street
On Saturday afternoon the foundation stone of a church which is dedicated to St James-the Less was laid by Mr Hugh Birley MP in Newton Street, Ancoats. The site is a conventional district, which has been formed out of the parishes of St Jude and St Andrew: and the new church will be a centre of influence amongst a large class of the population whose moral and intellectual status is very low. The minister of the district, the Rev W Coghan, has conducted divine service for two years in a room in John Street. The room is in a situation which we shall describe very mildly when we say that it is unpleasant. Nevertheless a considerable congregation has been formed. The census of 1861 gave to the parishes of St Jude and St Andrew a population of 30,000; but there is a present, as we are informed, church accommodation for only 2,600. ...... A subscription was commenced to erect a new church and a site was obtained in Newton Street, amidst clusters of squalid cottages and a poverty stricken population. The buildings and site together will cost £4,000 and towards that amount there has been obtained from various sources about £2,400.
The building will be plainly built of brick, with dressings of stone and coloured bricks. It will consist of a nave, with clerestory and side aisles, a chancel, baptistery and vestry. On the western side will be the main entrance porch, with tower and slated spire rising to a height of 100 feet. Over the porch will be a three light window. There will be galleries round the interior; and it is estimated that 750 persons may be accommodated in the entire area. Two thirds of the seats will be free and unappropriated. Mr Thomas Risley is the architect; Messrs Higgins and Sons are the general contractors; and Messrs Wade Brothers are the sub-contractors for the carpenters works. [Manchester Guardian 3 May 1869 page 3]
On Saturday afternoon [1st May] the foundation stone of the church of St James the Less, Newton-street, Great Ancoats, was laid by Mr Hugh Birley MP. The increase of the church congregation during the last eighteen months has been remarkable. The first congregation that assembled in the mission room consisted only of five individuals; now the mission room is crowded every Sunday evening, but the congregation is not so large in the morning owing to the room being used as a school. The Sunday school was commenced with eight children, the Rev. W. Coghlan being the only teacher; now there are between 400 and 500 children on the books, with a daily attendance of 250 to 300. If the room was larger still a greater number would attend, as many children have already had to be sent away for want of accommodation ... The building will be of brick in the early English style of architecture, with stone and coloured brick dressings, and coloured decorations in brick in the interior. It will consist of a nave with clerestory, side aisles and chancel – there being a baptistery on the south side of the chancel, and a vestry on the north side. As the church is closely surrounded with buildings on three sides, the only room for any architectural display is at the west front facing the street. Here there will be a main entrance in the centre, with two side entrances; above the main entrance there will be a three-light window, and there will also be a tower with pinnacles at the four corners, and a slanted spire, 100 feet high. ... The church will seat 750 persons, and about two-thirds of the sittings will be free. Mr Thomas Risley, of Red Lion-street, St Ann’s Square, is the architect. [Manchester Courier 3 May 1869]
The new church of St James the Less, Newton-street, Great Ancoats (street) has been consecrated by the Bishop of Manchester. The building is of brick, constructed in the Early English style of architecture with stone and coloured brick dressings and coloured brick decoration in the interior. The church will seat 654 persons and about 400 of the sittings will be free. The cost amounts to £2,500, all of which has been paid, except the sum of £300. [Builder 8 October 1870 Page 811]
Developed out of a mission room in John Street, Ancoats, established in 1866. At its peak, the population of the parish was about 12,000. By 1891 this had already fallen to 4,527, and by 1935 it was only about 2,000. In 1895 all but 50 of the sittings were free, and the living was valued at £300 a year. The parish was amalgamated with St Peter's, Oldham-road, in 1937. From the outset a particularly poor parish. A description of the early 1880s noted that the parish was geographically divided in two by Great Ancoats Street. The section lying between there and London Road was mostly occupied with stores and warehouses, with some houses adjacent to Great Ancoats Street occupied primarily by railway employees and bargemen, with a more miscellaneous population in the inner courts; however the bulk of the inhabitants of the parish lived in the section to the NE of Ancoats Street, a dense mass of the poorer working class living in overcrowded conditions in old and dilapidated housing stock [Ladies Branch of the Manchester and Salford Sanitary Association, 'Annual Report for 1882', 11].
Consecrated 21 September 1870; closed in 1937; demolished about 1950
Reference Manchester Guardian 3 May 1869 page 3 - foundation stone
Reference Manchester Courier & Lancashire General Advertiser, 3 May 1869 – foundation
Reference Manchester Guardian 22 September 1870 page 6 - consecration
Reference Builder 30 April 1870 Page 352
Reference Builder 8 October 1870 Page 811
Reference Freelance, (1868), 87-8;
Reference Manchester City News, 29 June 1895
Reference Axon, Annals of Manchester, page 324
