St. John Chrysostom’s Church, Oxford Place, Victoria Park
Richard Lane had planned a church on this site in the 1830s, but no building work was begun due to the collapse of the Victoria Park Company. The present church was consecrated on 13 October 1877, and was given a parish carved out of existing ones, including much land outside the Park, most notably the growing complex of hospitals. A disastrous fire on 1 October 1904 gutted the building, which was seriously under-insured. A Restoration Appeal was launched and the Church was rebuilt to the original design by John Ely, a pupil of Salomons, and architect of St. Mary's Hospital. Inside there is a large barrel vaulted nave with two side aisles. There is a large wood-panelled chancel with a polygonal apse with large lancet windows. There is a small Chapel, built by Anson to the right of the chancel. The Church has a beautiful set of Edwardian hand embroidered vestments and frontals. The stained-glass is by Burlison & Grylls and is a copy of the glass destroyed in the fire. The aisle windows depict English Saints on the left and various Biblical and nineteenth century figures on the right. The sanctuary windows are a memorial to Bishop Fraser and depict the Doctors of the Church, St. John Chrysostom among them. The glass in the Anson Chapel is a memorial to a local officer killed in the war, and is by the same firm, though with distinctly more modern overtones. The square font is of black marble with Early English details. The outside of the church is faced with stone. There is a slim bell tower on the North side and a statue of the Church's patron over the West door.
NEW CHURCH IN VICTORIA PARK, MANCHESTER. - This church, as shown in annexed illustration, is designed to be executed in Darley Dale stone for dressings, and Yorkshire walling stone in random courses externally. Internally, the piers, arches, and other dressings will be of Hollington stone, and the walls faced with stock bricks. The ceiling will be in the form of a polygonal barrel, divided into panels between the semi-circular ribs of roof trusses. Above the ceiling an airway is arranged for the ventilation of the building at night. This will be accelerated by a gas stove in a flue in the tower. The building is to be heated with hot air, by Messrs Haden's process. Mr Mark Foggett, builder, of Manchester, has undertaken the work at a total cost of £10,093, from designs by Mr G. T. Redmayne, architect, Manchester. [Building News 14 August 1874 page 194]
THE CHURCH OF ST CHRYSOSTOM, VICTORIA PARK The Corner Stone of this church will be laid today (Monday) the 21st instant, at three o’ clock pm by Sir William Reynell Anson, Bart. The Lord Bishop of Manchester will be present. Admission by ticket. [Manchester Guardian 21 September 1874 page 1]
ST CHRYSOSTOM’S CHURCH, VICTORIA PARK Yesterday the corner stone of a new church which is to be erected near the Clarence Street entrance to Victoria Park, Birch-in-Rusholme, was laid by Sir W R Anson, Bart. The new church, which is an offshoot from the parent church at Birch has been dedicated to St Chrysostom, and will supply a want which has been largely felt by the rapidly increasing population of the district around it. It is to be built in the Early English style of architecture. The external walls will be of Yorkshire stone with Darley Dale dressings, while the interior will be of red brick and finished with Hollington stone. The plan consists of a nave and side aisles, a choir, a chapel or transept on the south-east and a vestry on two floors for choristers and clergy. The whole of the congregation will be seated within the nave, the aisles being used only as passageways. The seats and fittings will be of pitch-pine and the roof will be of the character known as Aopen-timbered.@ Ventilation will be provided by an air-way through the ceiling and the church will be warmed by Messrs Haden’s well-known heating apparatus. The principal feature of the design is a tower or bell turret which is to rise from above the porch to a height of 85 feet, but other ornamental details will not be wanting to give the church elegance and effect. The extreme length internally will be 124 feet, and the width 47 feet. Mr Redmayne of King street is the architect and Mr Mark Fogget of Cheetham Hill has received the contract for the building. [Manchester Guardian 22 September 1874 page 8]
On Monday the foundation stone of a new church which is to be dedicated to St. Chrysostom was laid at Birch in Rusholme, Manchester. The church will be in the Early English style of architecture. The eternal walls will be of Yorkshire stone, with Darley Dale dressings, while theinterior will be lined with red brick and finished with Hollington stone. The plan consists of a nave and side aisles, a choir, a chapel or transept on the south east, and a vestry in two floors for choristers and clergy. The whole of the congregation will be seated within the nave, the aisles being used only as passage ways. The extreme length internally will be 124 feet, and the width 47 feet. Mr Redmayne, of Manchester, is thearchitect, and Mr Mark Foggett, of Cheetham Hill, the contractor. [Building News 25 September 1874 p369]
13 Sept 1874- Foundation stone of St Chrysostom laid by Sir W .R. Anson Bart. Cost £12000 (Axon). Reopened in 1906 after re-building by John Ely.
ST. CHRYSOSTOM’S CHURCH, VICTORIA PARK - The new Church of St Chrysostom, Victoria Park was opened on Saturday under licence from the Bishop of Manchester. The building, the foundation stone of which was laid in September 1874 is in the English lancet style, enriched only with slight cuspings in the windows of the apse and with two simple rose windows in the chapel. The nave is 100 feet long by 33 feet 6 inches wide, flanked by narrow aisles answering as passages, and divided from the nave by arcades of six bays of stone piers and arches. Speaking as though the church stood due east and west, which it does not, to the south of the south aisle and extending the length of the two eastern bays of the nave is a side chapel, which at some future time will be continued westward as a wide aisle as far as the present south porch. In a corresponding position to this chapel, but on the north side, are the vestries, two floors high, and over the entrance to these a small bell tower, 84 feet high. The choir begins at the easternmost column of the nave arcades and extends eastwards 25 feet, terminating in a three-sided apse. The chancel arch is to the east of the choir, so that the choir stalls are really in the body of the church on a raised floor. On the north side of the choir stalls, and between them nd the vestries, is placed the organ, a fine instrument by Willis of London, with its front well corbelled out from the arched chamber behind it, and the main body of its pipes speaking into the church clear of the arch. The nave and chancel are sub-ceiled with a waggon-headed roof, divided into panels by moulded ribs. The nave and choir fittings are of unvarnished pine. The internal walls are of brick, dressed with stone, and the exterior walls are of stone. The general contractor is Mr M Foggett, with Messrs Ellis and Hinchliffe as masons. The carving of the pulpit and font was by Messrs Earp and Company; the heating apparatus was supplied by Messrs Haden and Sons, and the gas fittings by Messrs Freeman and Collier. Mr L Oppenheimer laid the choir and apse floors with slabs of marble concrete. The whole of the work has been carried out from the designs of Mr Redmayne. The cost of the church has been about £12,180, and there is still a deficiency of £3,400. [Manchester Guardian 26 June 1876 page 8]
The church of St. Chrysostom, Victoria Park, Manchester, took fire on Saturday night, and, with the exception of the tower, spire, and stone walls, it was almost completely destroyed. The registers and church plate were secured while the flames were consuming the roof. It is conjectured, though not ascertained, that the fire originated in some way connected with the installation of electric light and a new heating apparatus. The damage done is covered by insurance. The church was built between 1875 and 1877, from designs by Mr Redmayne; it cost about £13,000, and seated 566 worshippers. It was a stone structure. Early English in style, consisting of nave, apsidal chancel, and narrow aisles with tower attached on north east, and small chapel to south east. The dedication festival commemorating its consecration by Bishop Fraser, four and twenty years ago, was to have been held on Sunday, and among the losses is a stained glass east window, which formed a memorial to Dr. Fraser. [Building News 7 October 1904 page 524]
A public meeting was held at Rusholme on Friday for the purpose of considering the means of rebuilding the Church of St. Chrysostom, Victoria Park, which was recently destroyed by fire. The Rector stated that the closest inquiry as to the cause of the fire had failed to yield anything but negative results. After consultation with the Bishop it had been decided to erect a temporary iron church which would accommodate 300 people. The original cost of the former church had been £10,706, and of the organ £665, and there had been later additions. Since the erection of the church, however, the cost of materials and labour had advanced, and they could not reproduce it at the same cost. They would receive in insurance £8,950, and they would have to raise at least £5,000 more. The executive committee reported that contributions already received amounted to £1,189 0s. 6d. Further donations were promised in the meeting, raising the total to £1,382 168. [Building News 14 October 1904 page 539]
Reference Building News 14 August 1874 page 194 and illustration
Reference Manchester Guardian 21 September 1874 page 1- advertisement
Reference Manchester Guardian 22 September 1874 page 8 - corner stone
Reference Building News 25 September 1874 p369
Reference Manchester Guardian 26 June 1876 page 8
Reference Building News 7 October 1904 page 524
Reference Building News 14 October 1904 page 539
