All Saints' Church or Stand Church is an active Anglican

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

Stand Stand or The Stand may refer to: * To assume the upright position of standing * Forest stand, a group of trees * Area of seating in a stadium, such as bleachers * Stand (cricket), a relationship between two players * Stand (drill pipe), 2 or 3 ...

, Whitefield,

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tam ...

, England. It is in the deanery of Radcliffe and Prestwich, the archdeaconry of Bolton, and the diocese of Manchester. The church is recorded in the

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, a ...

as a designated Grade I-

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. It was a

Commissioners' church A Commissioners' church, also known as a Waterloo church and Million Act church, is an Anglican church in the United Kingdom built with money voted by Parliament as a result of the Church Building Acts of 1818 and 1824. The 1818 Act supplie ...

, having received a grant towards its construction from the Church Building Commission. The church is a tall building, standing on high ground, and is constructed on a platform.

History

Built between 1821 and 1826, All Saints' Church is one of the many Commissioners' churches built to celebrate the defeat of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

at the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...

in 1815. The land on which the church and vicarage were built was given to the parish by the

Earl of Derby Earl of Derby ( ) is a title in the Peerage of England. The title was first adopted by Robert de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby, under a creation of 1139. It continued with the Ferrers family until the 6th Earl forfeited his property toward the en ...

. The architect Sir

John Soane Sir John Soane (; né Soan; 10 September 1753 – 20 January 1837) was an English architect who specialised in the Neo-Classical style. The son of a bricklayer, he rose to the top of his profession, becoming professor of architecture at the R ...

was invited to design the church to accommodate about 1,800 people, and to cost no more than £12,000. He declined and passed the commission to

Charles Barry Sir Charles Barry (23 May 1795 – 12 May 1860) was a British architect, best known for his role in the rebuilding of the Palace of Westminster (also known as the Houses of Parliament) in London during the mid-19th century, but also respons ...

. This church was Barry's first commission. Its design was similar to his design for St Matthew, Campfield.

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

(which has since been demolished); differing in being provided with a tower, rather than a spire. A grant of £13,812 (equivalent to £ as of ) was given towards its construction by the Church Building Commission. The foundation stone was laid on 3 August 1821, and the church was consecrated by the

Bishop of Chester The Bishop of Chester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chester in the Province of York. The diocese extends across most of the historic county boundaries of Cheshire, including the Wirral Peninsula and has its see in the ...

on 8 September 1826.

Architecture

Exterior

All Saints is constructed in millstone grit from the Pennines. The architectural style is described as "fanciful"

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

. The plan of the church is rectangular in five bays, with a canted

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an '' exedra''. ...

at the east end, and a west porch and tower. The lowest stage of the tower forms the porch, which is entered through tall narrow pointed arches. The bell openings are pairs of lancets. Along the sides of the church are two tiers of windows. The tower and the body of the church have embattled

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). ...

s and

crocket A crocket (or croquet) is a small, independent decorative element common in Gothic architecture. The name derives from the diminutive of the French ''croc'', meaning "hook", due to the resemblance of crockets to a bishop's crosier. Description ...

ed pinnacles.

Interior

Inside the church are galleries on three sides carried on slender

Perpendicular In elementary geometry, two geometric objects are perpendicular if they intersect at a right angle (90 degrees or π/2 radians). The condition of perpendicularity may be represented graphically using the ''perpendicular symbol'', ⟂. It ca ...

piers. The plaster ceilings are

vaulted In architecture, a vault (French ''voûte'', from Italian ''volta'') is a self-supporting arched form, usually of stone or brick, serving to cover a space with a ceiling or roof. As in building an arch, a temporary support is needed while ring ...

. The altar, screen and pulpit date from 1921, the choir stalls and side screens date from 1937; all of these were designed by the Lancaster architects

Austin and Paley Sharpe, Paley and Austin are the surnames of architects who practised in Lancaster, Lancashire, England, between 1835 and 1946, working either alone or in partnership. The full names of the principals in their practice, which went under vario ...

. The stained glass in the east window dates from 1841 and is by D. Evans of Shrewsbury. Elsewhere are windows by

Lavers, Barraud and Westlake Lavers, Barraud and Westlake were an English firm that produced stained glass windows from 1855 until 1921. They were part of the 19th-century Gothic Revival movement that had a significant influence on English civic, ecclesiastical and domestic ...

, and by

A. L. Moore Arthur Louis Moore (1849–24 March 1939) was an English glass-maker who specialised in stained glass windows. Life Moore was born in Brixton, London, one of nine children of a Clerkenwell clockmaker, and in 1871 he founded, along with a Mr. S. G ...

, the latter dating from 1921. The monuments include one by Sievier dating from 1826 depicting a lady lying on a ''

chaise longue A chaise longue (; , "long chair") is an upholstered sofa in the shape of a chair that is long enough to support the legs of the sitter. In modern French the term ''chaise longue'' can refer to any long reclining chair such as a deckchair. ...

''. The original organ was built by

Samuel Renn Samuel Renn (10 June 1786 – 11 January 1845) was an English organ builder who ran a business in Stockport, and later he traded in Manchester. The surviving instruments are mainly in churches, although a house organ is also known. Renn was bo ...

in 1827 and situated in the west gallery. It was moved in 1880 to the north aisle. This organ was removed from the church in 1957. It was replaced by the present three manual organ made by Charles A. Smethurst. This organ was rebuilt in 1997 by Nicholson of

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

. There is a

ring Ring may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell :(hence) to initiate a telephone connection Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...

of eight bells, all of which were cast in 1912 by Gillett and Johnston. During the 1930s there was a twenty-year programme of adornment and refurnishing of the sanctuary and chancel, culminating in the installation of a new choir stall, organ screen and clergy desks in 1937.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* * * {{Buildings and structures in Bury Grade I listed churches in Greater Manchester Church of England church buildings in Greater Manchester

Commissioners' church buildings Churches completed in 1826 19th-century Church of England church buildings

1826 establishments in England Whitefield, Greater Manchester Charles Barry buildings