The Hidden Gem

The first permanent Catholic Mass Centre to be opened in Manchester following the Reformation was dedicated to St Chad: the Rook Street chapel, which opened in 1774, serviced about 600 people coming from as far away as Bolton, Glossop and Macclesfield. In the following years, with the advent of the Industrial Revolution, many Catholic families from Ireland were attracted to the cotton industry in Manchester. This chapel remained in use until it was destroyed by fire in 1846. St Chad's then moved to its own purpose built church in Cheetham Hill. The description of the church as a 'Hidden Gem' originated in 1872 on a visit to the church by the then Bishop of Salford, Herbert Vaughan, who…

Father Gillow died in the Manchester typhus epidemic of 1837. Any plans for a new site were put on hold, and the decision was taken to rebuild St Mary's on the existing site. Two architects were consulted, Richard Lane, the architect of Salford Town Hall and the Friends Meeting House, and Augustus Pugin. Richard Lane's design was chosen at a cost of £265 17s 0d. (Pugin had been paid £138 3s 6d). The architect chosen to oversee the work was Matthew Ellison Hadfield, who later went on to build Salford Cathedral and the new St Chad's Church, Cheetham Hill. The old St Mary's Church was entirely demolished and the new St Mary's was formally opened in October 1848. The church's design is a blend…