St Ann's Church, Manchester
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St Ann's Church is a Church of England parish church in Manchester, England. Although named after
St Anne According to Christian apocryphal and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the canonical gospels. In writing, Anne's name and that of her husband Joachim come o ...
, it also pays tribute to the patron of the church, Ann, Lady Bland. St Ann's Church is a Grade I listed building.


Architecture and setting

At the beginning of the 18th century, Manchester was a small rural town, little more than a village, with many fields and timber-framed houses. A large cornfield named ''Acres Field'', which is now St Ann's Square, became the site for St Ann's Church. Acresfield was the site of an annual fair from the 13th century until 1823 when it was moved to Knott Mill. Although the church stood between the market and the collegiate church, both towers could be seen from all directions. It is a neo-classical building, originally constructed from locally quarried, red Collyhurst sandstone although, due to its soft nature, much of the original stone has since been replaced with sandstone of various colours from
Parbold Parbold is a village and civil parish in West Lancashire, England. Local government Parbold had a population of 2,582 at the 2011 Census. West Lancashire is divided into 19 parish councils, the first tier of local government. Parbold is borde ...
in Lancashire, Hollington in
Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...
, Darley Dale in Derbyshire and Runcorn in
Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...
. When the church was first constructed, the interior was simple, with plain glass windows. However, in the 19th century many changes were made, including the installation of stained glass windows. Some of these were bespoke, and others were adapted from other churches. One such window, on the north side of the church, was designed and made by
William Peckitt William Peckitt (1731 – 14 October 1795) was an English glass-painter and stained glass maker. He was based in York throughout his working life, was one of the leading Georgian era, Georgian glass craftsmen in England and helped “keep the art o ...
of York. The furniture includes a Queen Anne altar table, thought to be the only existing one of its kind, and a painting of "The Descent from the Cross" by
Annibale Carracci Annibale Carracci (; November 3, 1560 – July 15, 1609) was an Italian painter and instructor, active in Bologna and later in Rome. Along with his brother and cousin, Annibale was one of the progenitors, if not founders of a leading strand of th ...
of Bologna. The tower of the church marks the centre of the city;
surveyors Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...
used it as a platform to measure distances to other locations. Their benchmark remains visible at the tower door.


Buildings and statues in St Ann's Square

At the southeast corner of the square is the Royal Bank of Scotland which is in the Italian palazzo style. It was built in 1848 for Benjamin Heywood's bank by J. E. Gregan. In the square there are two statues; the statue of Richard Cobden is by Marshall Wood, 1867; the Boer War Memorial is by Hamo Thornycroft, 1907.


History


Consecration

The Mosleys were the
Lords of the Manor Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seigno ...
of Manchester and in 1693 the manor was inherited by Lady Ann Bland, daughter of Sir Edward Mosley. Lady Bland was a leader of fashion in Manchester, staunch in her religious and political views as a member of the Low Church Party: she herself at first worshipped at the Presbyterian Church in the centre of the town. In 1695, however,
Henry Newcome Henry Newcome (November 1627 – 17 September 1695) was an English nonconformist preacher and activist. Life Henry Newcome was born at Caldecote, Huntingdonshire, the fourth son of Stephen Newcome, rector of Caldicote. He was baptised on 27 ...
, the incumbent, died and Lady Bland decided to found a church of her own. In 1708, Parliament was petitioned to seek permission to build a new church, as the population of Manchester was increasing rapidly. On 18 May 1709, Lady Bland laid the foundation stone of a new church at one end of Acres Field. On 17 July 1712, the church was consecrated by the Bishop of Chester and was dedicated to
Saint Anne According to Christian apocryphal and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the canonical gospels. In writing, Anne's name and that of her husband Joachim come o ...
, the Virgin Mary's mother, which was a compliment both to the founder and to the reigning monarch, Queen Anne. Lady Bland herself is buried in the
Church of St James, Didsbury St James, Didsbury, on Stenner Lane, is a Grade II* Church of England church in the Manchester suburb of Didsbury and with Emmanuel church is part of the parish of St James and Emmanuel, Didsbury. History In 1235, Albertus de Gresley granted la ...
, where a memorial plaque commemorates her life.


John Byrom

As a result of the proximity of St Ann's to the collegiate church, there was a time when it was fashionable to attend "the old church" in the morning and "the new church" in the afternoon or vice versa. One of those who did so was John Byrom (1692–1763), author of ''Christians Awake'', who played quite a prominent part at St Ann's under the first two rectors, despite his
Jacobite Jacobite means follower of Jacob or James. Jacobite may refer to: Religion * Jacobites, followers of Saint Jacob Baradaeus (died 578). Churches in the Jacobite tradition and sometimes called Jacobite include: ** Syriac Orthodox Church, sometimes ...
sympathies.


Manchester becomes a growing town

Towards the end of the 17th century, streets had become more numerous in the St Ann's district; by 1720, St Ann's Square had been laid out and planted with trees in imitation of the fashionable squares of London and
Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...
. By 1735, buildings had begun to rise on the south side of Acres Field and King Street and Ridgefield came into being. There was now no longer the simple distinction between "the old church" and "the new church". The rapid growth of Manchester as a result of the Industrial Revolution led to the building of other churches. Then, as the population moved out to the suburbs in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many of these churches fell into disuse and were demolished. St Ann's holds the memorials from several of these churches, for example
Sir 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 responsi ...
's St Matthew's, Campfield (built 1823–25, demolished 1950).


Importance to civic life

St Ann's has always been closely associated with the civic life, and its rectors have from time to time acted as chaplain to the Lord Mayor, the county council chairmen and the police. In 1975, the Friends of St Ann's Church was formed from the business houses in the parish, to maintain the fabric of this historic building. Renovation work was carried out at St Ann's during 2011 (whilst the church remained operational). The work included the repair of its clock, bell, stonework and roof. During renovation work the church was draped in large advertising banners, which was controversial for a Grade I listed building. The church has an active concert schedule, including weekly lunchtime organ recitals (on Wednesdays), monthly professional concerts, and regular piano and chamber music concerts by
Royal Northern College of Music The Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) is a conservatoire located in Manchester, England. It is one of four conservatoires associated with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. In addition to being a centre of music education ...
students. The church has a four-manual George Sixsmith organ.


See also

* Grade I listed churches in Greater Manchester * Listed buildings in Manchester-M2 * List of ecclesiastical works by Alfred Waterhouse


References

Notes Citations


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Ann's Church, Manchester Manchester Tourist attractions in Manchester Grade I listed churches in Manchester Manchester Sandstone churches in England Squares in Manchester Manchester Churches completed in 1712 18th-century Church of England church buildings Neoclassical church buildings in England