St John the Baptist Church, Rochdale

From 1824, a Catholic priest resided in Rochdale. He was Fr William Turner, who later became Bishop of Salford. Mass was originally celebrated in a room of a warehouse on Clegg Street. In 1829 St John's Church church was built and opened on Ann Street in Rochdale. Fr Turner remained in post until 1835, when he became the priest at St Chad's Church in Cheetham Hill, and was succeeded by Fr Dowling. In 1860 the original church was replaced by a brick building. Fr Dowling died in 1871 and was succeeded by the dean, Fr O'Neill. In the late 19th century, as the surrounding towns grew in population, further Catholic missions were established in the area. From 1898 to 1937, the priest at St John…

Canon Chipp sought the construction of a new, larger church to replace the one made of brick. He wanted a church to resemble the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. He also designed St Teresa's Church in Irlam in 1900, St Brigid's Church in Bradford in 1901, St Alphonsus in Old Trafford in 1903, Our Lady and the English Martyrs Church in Urmston in 1911, and St Joseph's Church in Heywood in 1913. In 1918 Henry Thomas Sandy bought Hill's architectural firm. In 1920 Ernest Bower Norris joined the practice. In 1922 Sandy died and Norris ran the firm, which became known as Hill, Sandy & Norris, which ceased operations in 1969. From 1962 to 1964, he designed a similar church, St John Fisher Church, in…