St Ann's Church, Stretford is a Grade II listed

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church in

Stretford Stretford is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, sited on flat ground between the River Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal; the Bridgewater Canal bisects the town. The town is located south of Manchester, south of Salfo ...

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...

, England. It was constructed between 1862 and 1863, on the east side of the A56 Chester Road. The parish functions under the jurisdiction of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Salford The Diocese of Salford () is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church centred on the City of Salford in Greater Manchester, England. The diocese was founded in 1852 as one of the first post-Reformation Catholic dioceses in Great Britain. Since 191 ...

Origins

The St Ann's Mission was founded in 1859 in a small chapel on Herbert Street, Stretford. It initially served as a chapel-of-ease to All Saints, Barton until 1862 after which it became chapel-of-ease to St Francis, Gorton and was served by the

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

Fathers.

Construction

The church was designed by E. W. Pugin in the

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

style for

Sir Humphrey de Trafford Sir Humphrey de Trafford, 2nd Baronet (1 May 1808 – 4 May 1886) was a prominent English Catholic. Born at Croston Hall near Chorley, Lancashire on 1 May 1808, he was the fourth child and the eldest son of Sir Thomas de Trafford. Early li ...

who commissioned the church as wedding anniversary present for his wife Lady Annette. The contractor was Mr Glaistor of Liverpool, Hardman & Co. of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

made the windows and brasswork and

Richard Lockwood Boulton Richard Lockwood Boulton (c. 1832–1905) was an English sculptor who founded the firm Messrs R. L. Boulton & Sons. It was centred in Cheltenham, England, and built monuments made of iron and stone in the United Kingdom.

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, Engl ...

was stonemason. The church was opened on 22 November 1863 by Bishop William Turner. The presbytery and sacristy were completed in 1865 and the church was consecrated by Bishop William Turner on 18 June 1867. The following year the church organ was installed by FW Jardine of Manchester.A History of St Ann's, Stretford, 2004

Later alterations

During 1893 and 1894 the church was refurbished and redecorated. JA Pippet of Hardman & Co. of

painted a series of murals throughout the church depicting the various stages of the life of St Ann. In the 1930s, the church was modernised with new oak fittings including a pulpit, altar rails, font, and panelling on the sanctuary. Work was interrupted by the outbreak of the Second World War, during which St Ann's was damaged by incendiary bombs in the

blitz Blitz, German for "lightning", may refer to: Military uses *Blitzkrieg, blitz campaign, or blitz, a type of military campaign *The Blitz, the German aerial campaign against Britain in the Second World War *, several ships of the Prussian, Imperia ...

. In the 1960s, the church was extensively modernised in preparation for the centenary. Then, following the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

, work began in the 1970s to modernise the sanctuary for the new liturgy; the high altar, pulpit and later the altar rails were all removed.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Ann's, Stretford Grade II listed churches in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford Grade II listed Roman Catholic churches in England Roman Catholic churches in Greater Manchester Gothic Revival church buildings in England Gothic Revival architecture in Greater Manchester Churches completed in 1863 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom

Saint Ann According to apocrypha, as well as Christianity, Christian and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary, the wife of Joachim and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the Bible's Gosp ...

Roman Catholic Diocese of Salford

Origins

Construction

Later alterations

See also

References