That church ……….. February in Didsbury

Location; Wilmslow Road, Didsbury

Picture; the former church, 2023, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

 

Passing the church on Albert Hill Street ………………

It’s the one on Albert Hill Street, and was the Primitive Methodist Church.

In 1911 it proudly announced that its “Services were at 10.45 am and 6.30 pm on Wednesday’s and 7.30 pm on Sunday with a Sunday School”.

And for those who prefer it in colour, rather than "arty farty monochrome", here is the original colour version. Two for one ...... now that's an offer not to be turned down.

Location Didsbury









Picture; the one on Albert Hill Street, 2020, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

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/

Reuniting a war memorial with its church in West Didsbury ........ the picture of St Mary's

Now, ever since I discovered that the war memorial in the grounds of what was St Luke’s on Burton Road had come from another church which closed in 1929 I had been looking for a picture of that lost church.

St Maru's, date unknown

It was called St Mary’s and was located on Queens Court Road on the corner with Palatine Road. 

There was no reference to it in the Directories, although there was a school bearing the same name behind Barlow Moor Road.

Then as so often happens, someone came forward and offered up the answer, which in this case was Maureen Stephenson who responded to the original story with, "The following information is from Pam Siddon's booklet West Didsbury - A Walk on the West Side. Hopefully, it will solve the St. Mary's mystery. 

On the opposite side of the St. Aidan’s United Reform Church, on Palatine Road was  St. Mary's Church, which was demolished in 1929.

St Mary's on Queens Court Road

St. Mary's had been built in when the parishioners of St Luke's on Burton Road became very resentful at having to attend services there. 

The road was badly lit, the pavements dirty and hardly anyone lived nearby. 

In 1888 they held a meeting and agreed to build a temporary church on Palatine Road. 

St. Mary's was a wooden structure of pitched pine with a corrugated iron roof which was always known as 'The Iron Church'. 

The organist and choirmaster, Samuel Lamford, was the music critic of 'The Manchester Guardian'. (Andrew, the church may have been on the site of the present day Queens Court flats?)"

Queens Court

And having finally got its location I found it on the 1893 OS map for South Lancashire, and again on the 1933 OS, after which it was demolished and the complex of flats known as Queens Court was built.

But until now I lacked a picture, but that too has now been sorted, because a few days ago John Waterton posted a picture postcard of the church  from the Wrench series and gave me permission to reuse it.

I don’t have a date, and although there is a serial number on the card, I have yet to locate a Wrench catalogue which would provide that date.

The War Memoriral, Northern Grove, 2017

Still, for now it is enough that I can place the memorial beside its original church.

Location; Didsbury






Pictures; St Mary’s from a Wrench picture postcard courtesy of John Waterton, the war memorial 2017 from the collection of Andrew Simpson, and Queens Court, 2020 from the collection of Barbarella Bonvento