Now I just hope that after 144 years I could look as good as Gorton Monastery.*
It is a place I only knew of vaguely when we lived nearby and over the years I have only watched its progress with half an eye which is a shame.
More so because as Peter’s painting shows it is a fine building and so as you do I went looking for its story.
“The Church and Friary of St Francis, known locally as Gorton Monastery, is a 19th-century former Franciscan friary in Gorton.
The Franciscans arrived in Gorton in December 1861 and built their friary between 1863 and 1867.
Most of the building work was done by the friars themselves, with a brother acting as clerk of works.[1] The foundation stone for the church was laid in 1866 and completed in 1872; it closed for worship in 1989. It is a prominent example of High Victorian Gothic architecture,[2] and has been listed with Grade II* status since 1963.
In 1997, Gorton Monastery was placed on the World Monuments Fund Watch List of 100 Most Endangered Sites in the World.
The church and associated friary buildings underwent a £6 million restoration programme supported by funds from the Heritage Lottery Fund, English Heritage and European Regional Development Fund.
The project was completed in June 2007 when the restored buildings opened as a venue for conferences, business meetings and community events. The building is also used for a range of concerts.”**
Now there will be lots of people who will have their own memories, stories and pictures of the place and it would be nice if they could be shared.
And no sooner had the post gone live Marion Jackson, added that she had "taught in the school in 1970.
The monastery church beautiful, but the old parts of the school were very decayed, we had to avoid rotten floorboards. Gorton was being demolished around us, lots of families being moved out and cockroaches moving in overnight.
The ladies loo was full of them each morning. But I loved the staff, pupils and the church , a happy place for me."
Painting; Gorton Monastery, Manchester. Painting © 2013 Peter Topping,, Paintings from Pictures
Web: www.paintingsfrompictures.co.uk
*The Monastery, http://www.themonastery.co.uk/
**Gorton Monastery, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorton_Monastery
It is a place I only knew of vaguely when we lived nearby and over the years I have only watched its progress with half an eye which is a shame.
More so because as Peter’s painting shows it is a fine building and so as you do I went looking for its story.
“The Church and Friary of St Francis, known locally as Gorton Monastery, is a 19th-century former Franciscan friary in Gorton.
The Franciscans arrived in Gorton in December 1861 and built their friary between 1863 and 1867.
Most of the building work was done by the friars themselves, with a brother acting as clerk of works.[1] The foundation stone for the church was laid in 1866 and completed in 1872; it closed for worship in 1989. It is a prominent example of High Victorian Gothic architecture,[2] and has been listed with Grade II* status since 1963.
The church and associated friary buildings underwent a £6 million restoration programme supported by funds from the Heritage Lottery Fund, English Heritage and European Regional Development Fund.
The project was completed in June 2007 when the restored buildings opened as a venue for conferences, business meetings and community events. The building is also used for a range of concerts.”**
Now there will be lots of people who will have their own memories, stories and pictures of the place and it would be nice if they could be shared.
And no sooner had the post gone live Marion Jackson, added that she had "taught in the school in 1970.
The monastery church beautiful, but the old parts of the school were very decayed, we had to avoid rotten floorboards. Gorton was being demolished around us, lots of families being moved out and cockroaches moving in overnight.
The ladies loo was full of them each morning. But I loved the staff, pupils and the church , a happy place for me."
Painting; Gorton Monastery, Manchester. Painting © 2013 Peter Topping,, Paintings from Pictures
Web: www.paintingsfrompictures.co.uk
*The Monastery, http://www.themonastery.co.uk/
**Gorton Monastery, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorton_Monastery
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