Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St Patrick Church or St Patrick's Church is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

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, ...

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, wh ...

, Greater Manchester, England. It was founded in 1858 and was built in 1870. It is situated on the corner of John Street and Union Street West, north of

Oldham Sixth Form College Oldham Sixth Form College is a government-funded college of further education in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. Opened in 1992 as a specialist centre for advanced-level study, the Principal of the college is Jayne Clarke. Despite being ...

in the centre of the town. It is a Gothic Revival church and is a Grade II listed building.Oldham - Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St Patrick
from

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

, retrieved 6 February 2016

History

St Mary's Church

Foundation

In the 1820s, to serve the local Catholic

congregation A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship. Congregation may also refer to: * Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administr ...

in Oldham, a priest came from St Augustine's Church in Manchester and set up a

mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

in the town. Originally,

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...

was said in a room situated above 14 to 16 Henshaw Street. Later, this moved to a room above the Harp and Shamrock Public House. In 1829, with the increasing size of the congregation, a former Unitarian chapel on Lord Street was leased by Fr James Fisher.Oldham - St Mary
from

, retrieved 6 February 2016

Construction

When the lease expired, money for a new church was raised by a Fr Adam George Fisher, nephew of Fr James Fisher. In 1837, building work started on the church. The architect was

Matthew Ellison Hadfield Matthew Ellison Hadfield (8 September 1812 – 9 March 1885) was an English architect of the Victorian Gothic revival. He is chiefly known for his work on Roman Catholic churches, including the cathedral churches of Salford and Sheffield. Trai ...

. On 3 March 1839, the church was opened. From 1844 to 1857, the burial ground was used. In the 1850s, the Lady Chapel and

baptistery In Christian architecture the baptistery or baptistry (Old French ''baptisterie''; Latin ''baptisterium''; Greek , 'bathing-place, baptistery', from , baptízein, 'to baptize') is the separate centrally planned structure surrounding the baptismal ...

were added. In 1861, the church was damaged by anti-Catholic and anti-Irish rioters. Most of the damage was to the church windows. In 1867, the church was reopened after an extensive renovation. It was funded from money raised by Fr Grymonprez. It is the earliest Catholic church in Oldham.

St Patrick's Church

Foundation

In 1858, St Patrick's Church was founded as a

chapel of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently. Often a chapel of ea ...

of St Mary's Church. Fr Conway bought an existing chapel on Foundry Street to say Mass in the centre of the town. In 1862, the church became independent of St Mary's Church. That year, plans were made by a Fr Brindle for a larger church to accommodate the increasing size of the congregation. The site of the church on Union Street was given by John Lees Ainsworth.

Construction

On 28 March 1869, the foundation stone of St Patrick's Church was laid. The church was designed by Thomas Mitchell, an architect from Oldham. The building firm was Finnegans of Manchester. On 5 June 1870, the church was completed and the first Mass was said.

Developments

In 1873, a new high

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

and reredos was added. It was designed by

George Goldie Sir George Dashwood Taubman Goldie (20 May 1846 – 20 August 1925) was a Manx administrator who played a major role in the founding of Nigeria. In many ways, his role was similar to that of Cecil Rhodes elsewhere in Africa but he did ...

. In 1898, the presbytery was built. The next year, in 1899, the schools on Foundry Street were rebuilt. From 1906 to 1907, the interior was reordered as new floors, side altars, confessionals, altar rails, a side porch and new seating were added.

Parish

St Mary's Church is now served from St Patrick's Church and the two are in the same

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

.SMWSP.org.uk
retrieved 6 February 2016 St Patrick's Church has three Masses on a Sunday: 10:00am, 12:30pm (in Polish) and at 6pm. St Mary's Church has one Sunday Mass, it is at 11:30am.

Interior

File:Church of St Patrick interior, Oldham by Mike Berrell.jpg, St Patrick's Church interior

References

External links

*
St Mary's with St Patrick's Parish site
{{Diocese of Salford Buildings and structures in Oldham Roman Catholic churches in Greater Manchester Grade II listed churches in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham Grade II listed Roman Catholic churches in England Gothic Revival church buildings in Greater Manchester 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom 1858 establishments in England Roman Catholic churches completed in 1870 Roman Catholic Diocese of Salford

History

St Mary's Church

Foundation

Construction

St Patrick's Church

Foundation

Construction

Developments

Parish

Interior

See also

References

External links