Now, you do not have to be religious to acknowledge the importance of religious buildings in a community.
Not only do they afford a spiritual need for some, but they reach out to the community in many different ways, while for me, they are a rich source of historical stories.
Those stories can tell us so much about how Chorlton has changed.
And that was the starting point for the new book, Chorlton-cum-Hardy Churches, Chapels, Temples A Synagogue and a Mosque.*
My starting point has always been those buried in the parish church on the green, but equally fascinating are the efforts of the Methodists, Baptists, and Congregationalist to establish their own places of worship and more recently the creation of the Hindu temple on Wilbraham Road, as well as the Buddhist centres.
Sitting beside these Chorlton places of worship are the synagogue and mosque just over the border in West Didsbury.
But the stories were only part of the reason why Peter and I began the book.
For him, it was the architecture of the buildings and the way that they have grown and adapted over the last century and a bit.
And that gave him the scope to produce some stunning paintings of each of the buildings, accompanied with some fine colour photographs of the interior of each of them, and a collection of period black and white images stretching back into the 19th century.
At this point I was tempted to tell a story, but was reminded by Peter that the stories are in the book, which is out today and can be bought from Chorlton Bookshop or from us.
It is the sixth book we have produced together, and like the others has been designed to be read by the fire, or as a series of five walks, stretching out across Chorlton and into Didsbury.
The first of those walks will be in the new year, giving everyone time to buy and read it, and join us for the book launch in Chorlton Library on December 3rd from 7.30 pm.
But I can’t quite resist leaving you with the start of the story of the building on Oswald Road, tucked away beside two large houses, down a path which in summer is half hidden by bushes and trees, and which was variously a warehouse, a church and is now a family home.
Now, that is all I am going to say, other than that, one of our proof readers commented that “here was a book which celebrated the diversity of where we live and explored its rich history".
And that seems a good point to close.
Location; Chorlton & Didsbury
You can obtain your copy from us at http://www.pubbooks.co.uk/ or Chorlton Book shop, 506 Wilbraham Road, Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester M21 9AW 0161 881 6374
*A new book on the places of worship in Chorlton-cum Hardy, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/search/label/A%20new%20book%20on%20the%20places%20of%20worship%20in%20Chorlton-cum-Hardy
Those stories can tell us so much about how Chorlton has changed.
And that was the starting point for the new book, Chorlton-cum-Hardy Churches, Chapels, Temples A Synagogue and a Mosque.*
My starting point has always been those buried in the parish church on the green, but equally fascinating are the efforts of the Methodists, Baptists, and Congregationalist to establish their own places of worship and more recently the creation of the Hindu temple on Wilbraham Road, as well as the Buddhist centres.
Sitting beside these Chorlton places of worship are the synagogue and mosque just over the border in West Didsbury.
 |
| The old parish church 1908 |
For him, it was the architecture of the buildings and the way that they have grown and adapted over the last century and a bit.
And that gave him the scope to produce some stunning paintings of each of the buildings, accompanied with some fine colour photographs of the interior of each of them, and a collection of period black and white images stretching back into the 19th century.
 |
| The Synagogue, West Didsbury |
It is the sixth book we have produced together, and like the others has been designed to be read by the fire, or as a series of five walks, stretching out across Chorlton and into Didsbury.
 |
| The house on Oswald Road |
Now, that is all I am going to say, other than that, one of our proof readers commented that “here was a book which celebrated the diversity of where we live and explored its rich history".
And that seems a good point to close.
Location; Chorlton & Didsbury
You can obtain your copy from us at http://www.pubbooks.co.uk/ or Chorlton Book shop, 506 Wilbraham Road, Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester M21 9AW 0161 881 6374
*A new book on the places of worship in Chorlton-cum Hardy, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/search/label/A%20new%20book%20on%20the%20places%20of%20worship%20in%20Chorlton-cum-Hardy
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