So goodbye and thanks for those Art Nouveau church windows* …… or a little bit of Didsbury’s finest

I have never visited St. Aidan’s Presbyterian Church on Palatine Road and now I doubt I ever will.

It closes for good in late June after a decision by the congregation to merge with Christ Church South Manchester on Parrs Wood Road. **

And that means I will never get to see its stunning Art Nouveau windows which my friend Phil Portus tells me were by Walter Pearce who once lived on Lansdown Road in West Didsbury.

His is a fascinating story which involved the death of his parents when he was just ten, followed by a succession of institutions where he grew up, culminating with an apprenticeship as a painter and decorator.

After a spell working for different firms, he set up on his own and by 1899 described himself as a Stained Glass Artist.  

The year before he had begun teaching painting and decorating at the Manchester Municipal School of Technology and published “’Painting and Decorating’ which became the standard text book, running to seven editions”.*** 

At this point if you want more follow the link to the article in Architects of Greater Manchester.

And never one to steal other’s research rather than describe the windows which he created in 1901 for the church I suggest you go to the Didsbury United Reformed Churches site and read the history along with some pictures of those windows.

For now, I will thank Phil for alerting me to both the windows and the closure as well as his own fine pictures of Mr. Pearce’s work.

And perhaps all is not lost as the congregation comments, "The  church building is Grade 2 listed having some beautiful stained glass windows so when the church is able to re-open we hope you will come to see them".

I hope so.

Location; Palatine Road, Didsbury

Pictures; courtesy of Phil Portus, 2023

*With apologies to Douglas Adams and his wonderful book So long, thanks for all the fish, 1984

**Didsbury United Reform Church,  https://didsburyurc.org.uk/

***Walter John Pearce, Architects of Greater Manchester, https://manchestervictorianarchitects.org.uk/index.php/architects/walter-j-pearce

****Didsbury United Reform Church, About Us, https://didsburyurc.org.uk/about-2/