St Joseph'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, ...

Stockport Stockport is a town and borough in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt and Tame merge to create the River Mersey here. Most of the town is within ...

, Greater Manchester, England. It was built from 1861 to 1862 and designed by

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 ...

. It is situated on St Petersgate, south west of the High Street. It is the only church in England administered by the

Priests of the Sacred Heart The Congregation of the Priests of the Sacred Heart ( la, Congregatio Sacerdotum a Sacro Corde Iesu) abbreviated SCI, also called the Dehonians, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men in the Catholic Church f ...

and is a Grade II listed building.England
from

, UK, retrieved 4 February 2016Stockport - St Joseph
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 4 February 2016

History

Foundation

During the late 18th century, the local Catholic population in Stockport were served by priests from Manchester. In 1798, a Fr James Blundell was saying

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 ...

in a house on Windmill Street. In 1803, a permanent chapel was built on Chapel Street and called St Philip and St James. In the first half of the nineteenth century, the Catholic congregation increased with the influx of workers at Stockport’s mills. In 1845, a priest would come from the chapel (which in 1905 would be replaced by Our Lady and the Apostles Church in

Edgeley Edgeley is a suburb of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. Edgeley is characterised largely by Victorian terraced housing around Alexandra Park. The population in 2011 was 14,176. Edgeley Park is home to Stockport County F.C. History R ...

) to the centre of Stockport to say Mass in a temporary school in Parson’s Yard. In 1858, the schools on Tatton Street were built. They were designed by

and

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 ...

Construction

In 1861, the foundation stone for the church was laid by the

Bishop of Salford The Bishop of Salford is the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Salford in the Province of Liverpool, England. With the gradual abolition of the legal restrictions on the activities of Catholics in England and Wales in the early 19th cent ...

, William Turner. In 1862, a watercolour was made by M. E. Hadfield showing the west end interior of the church. It now hangs in the west end of the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

. In 1888, an industrial school, linked to the church, was built to the south of the school. It was part-funded by the

Henry Fitzalan-Howard, 15th Duke of Norfolk Henry Fitzalan-Howard, 15th Duke of Norfolk, (27 December 184711 February 1917), styled Lord Maltravers until 1856 and Earl of Arundel and Surrey between 1856 and 1860, was a British Unionist politician and philanthropist. He served as Postmas ...

Parish

The church has two Sunday Masses, they are at 5:00pm on Saturday and 11:30am on Sunday.Directory
from

Diocese of Shrewsbury The Roman Catholic Diocese of Shrewsbury is a Roman Catholic diocese in the Province of Birmingham which encompasses the pre-1974 counties of Shropshire and Cheshire in the North West and West Midlands of England. The diocese includes rural are ...

, retrieved 4 February 2016

Interior

File:Recent image 2018.jpg, Interior File:Gallery View.jpg, Organ File:The confessional is shown here.jpg, Confessional File:Altar viewed from the galler.jpg, Altar

References

External links

St Joseph's Church, Stockport
from

Sacred Heart Fathers British-Irish Province
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Joseph's Church, Stockport Roman Catholic churches in Greater Manchester Grade II listed churches in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport Grade II listed Roman Catholic churches in England Gothic Revival church buildings in England Gothic Revival architecture in Greater Manchester Roman Catholic churches completed in 1862 1861 establishments in England 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom Roman Catholic Diocese of Shrewsbury Matthew Ellison Hadfield buildings