St John's Church, Manchester
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St John's Church, Manchester, also known as St John's, Deansgate, was an Anglican parish church in Manchester, England, established in 1769 and demolished in 1931. Its site is now that of St John's Gardens, situated between Lower Byrom Street, Byrom Street and
Quay Street Quay Street is a street in Manchester city centre in Greater Manchester, England. The street, designated the A34, continues Peter Street westwards towards the River Irwell and Salford. It is the northern boundary of Spinningfields, the cit ...
. St John's Church was built in 1769 by Edward Byrom, a co-founder of the first bank in Manchester. Its parish encompassed a large and important section of the city of Manchester. The first rector, John Clowes, held the office for 62 years until his death in 1831. Clowes preached the first
Sunday school ] A Sunday school, sometimes known as a Sabbath school, is an educational institution, usually Christianity, Christian in character and intended for children or neophytes. Sunday school classes usually precede a Sunday church service and are u ...
sermon in the Manchester area, introduced
Swedenborgianism The New Church (or Swedenborgianism) can refer to any of several historically related Christian denominations that developed under the influence of the theology of Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772). The Swedenborgian tradition is considered to ...
there and was prominent in championing Whit Walks. Clowes was succeeded by William Huntington, who had held the post of
curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are as ...
since 1826 and continued as rector until his death in 1874. Huntington established the Sunday school, for which he laid the foundation stone in 1827. In 1906, around 250 children attended the Sunday school and the church had numerous affiliated groups, such as a Penny Bank and a Choral Society. By the early 1900s, the graveyard was overshadowed on its northern side by a warehouse built on the Quay Street site of the Byrom family residence, and with a declining congregation and some redundancy of provision given the nearby St Matthew's Church, the Manchester diocese decided to merge the parish of St John's with St Matthew's in 1927. As a result, the church was demolished in 1931. The church has been described as the first significant building in Manchester to be constructed 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 of architecture. Construction of the tower, which contained a peal of eight bells manufactured by Lester and Pack, was completed in May 1770. The first restoration took place in 1821, including a re-roofing paid for by a daughter of Byrom. Between 1874 and 1878 work was done at a cost of £1,600 and in 1898 the lighting was converted from gas to electric. The church bells, which were described as "among the best peal of bells in Manchester", were rehung in 1832 and again around 1883. The roof collapsed in 1924 and was rebuilt by 1926. Among people who were commemorated in the church windows were John Owens, and Sir Thomas Bazley. Today the graveyard of the church is commemorated by a stone cross and a plaque states that more than 22,000 bodies lie buried in the vicinity. Among those buried in the churchyard are John Owens, the founder of
Owens College Owens may refer to: Places in the United States * Owens Station, Delaware * Owens Township, St. Louis County, Minnesota * Owens, Missouri * Owens, Ohio * Owens, Texas * Owens, Virginia People * Owens (surname), including a list of people with ...
, and William Marsden, who founded the concept of a half-day holiday on Saturdays.


Origins

The rapid population growth of Manchester during the mid-18th century saw a rising demand for more churches. St John's Church was built in 1769 by Edward Byrom (13 June 1724 – 24 April 1773), a co-founder of the first bank in Manchester and the oldest surviving son of
John Byrom John Byrom, John Byrom of Kersal, or John Byrom of Manchester (29 February 1692 – 26 September 1763) was an English poet, the inventor of a revolutionary system of shorthand and later a significant landowner. He is most remembered as the wr ...
, whose affluent family was well known in the area. According to William Shaw, a local historian and fellow of Owens College, the church was "intended for the 'genteel' residents who were migrating to the south side of the town". Byrom obtained permission from
Edmund Keene Edmund Keene (1714 – 6 July 1781) was an English churchman and academic, who was Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge and later served first as Bishop of Chester, then Bishop of Ely. Younger brother of the diplomat Benjamin Keene, the family were ...
, 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 ...
, and was supported by many prominent local people. Its parish, which was not formalised until at least 1839, encompassed an area described by the '' Manchester Courier'' in 1900 as
J. M. W. Turner Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 177519 December 1851), known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbu ...
sketched the tower of St John's and two nearby church spires in 1831. The sketch is in the
Tate Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK ...
's collection.


Structure

Although contemporary sources such as the '' Manchester Mercury'' name Byrom as the sponsor of the building, they do not identify his architect. The church was described by the English author and historian Clare Hartwell as being the first significant building in Manchester to be constructed 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 of architecture. It had galleries supported by slender
cast-iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...
columns. The foundation stone was laid by Edward Byrom on 28 April 1768 and Keene performed the
consecration Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...
on 7 July 1769, when the sermon was given by John Byrom's friend,
John Clayton John Clayton may refer to: Arts and entertainment Writing *John Clayton (architect) (died 1861), English architect and writer *John Clayton (sportswriter) (1954–2022), American sportswriter and reporter *John Bell Clayton and Martha Clayton, Joh ...
. Construction of the tower, which contained a peal of eight bells manufactured by Lester and Pack, was completed in May 1770. The first restoration took place in 1821, including a re-roofing paid for by a daughter of Byrom. Between 1874 and 1878 work was done at a cost of £1600 and in 1898 the lighting was converted from gas to electric, substantial internal modifications were carried out and repairs made to the clock tower which cost around £2200. The church bells, which were described by a local journalist for the ''Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser'' as "among the best peal of bells in Manchester", were rehung in 1832 and again around 1883. The tower had clock dials on all four sides. A minute hand was added to the clock in 1833 and its mechanism was replaced around 1906. The graveyard was paved with tombstones. In 1906, the church was looking to raise funds to acquire and convert the nearby St John's Hospital of Manchester and Salford for the Ear for use as a
rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, p ...
. The roof collapsed in 1924 and was rebuilt by 1926. Among people who were commemorated in the church windows were John Owens, and Sir Thomas Bazley. Another window was of some antiquity, originating from a convent in
Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...
, France, and presented to the church by a grateful French refugee priest. This ''Entry to Jerusalem'' window was moved in 1929 to the Church of St Mary the Virgin, Eccles and windows depicting St John, St Peter and St Matthew, dating from 1760 by William Peckitt, were at some time moved to St Ann's Church in the city. Other windows were by William Raphael Eginton. Circa 1816, he described these as:


Functions

The church held the right to conduct the marriages of people throughout Manchester, not only from within its parish, until 1874. Despite this, there were no such services for the first 35 years of its existence, perhaps because of the continued popularity of the
Collegiate Church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons, a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, headed by a dignitary bearing ...
as a venue for weddings but probably because the latter insisted on collecting its own fees for marriages held in other local churches, which effectively doubled the cost of being married at St John's rather than at the Collegiate Church. Later, after the rights of the Collegiate Church were curtailed, some weeks saw more than 100 marriage services at St John's in the years just before 1874. Burials ceased completely in 1900 but there had been very few for some years previously because the available space had been exhausted and most graves were full. In 1827, the church erected a building dedicated as a
Sunday school ] A Sunday school, sometimes known as a Sabbath school, is an educational institution, usually Christianity, Christian in character and intended for children or neophytes. Sunday school classes usually precede a Sunday church service and are u ...
. This was also used as a day school from 1838. In 1906, around 250 children attended the Sunday school and the church had numerous affiliated groups, such as a Penny Bank and a Choral Society. The day school accommodation was at that time condemned by the Board of Education as unfit for purpose and it was operating under a stay issued by the board. In the same year, Hannah Mitchell, a
suffragette A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...
, was arrested at the day school for protesting during an
election campaign A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making progress within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, by which representatives are chosen or referen ...
speech by
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...
. The building was closed in 1908 and a new school building opened on Gartside Street in 1910 at a cost of £4000. This new facility was used only as Sunday school because, said the local clergy, the Board of Education put too many administrative obstacles and demands in their way, such as stipulating such a small attendance roll as to render any day school uneconomic and insisting on a dedicated playground despite there being a large open space next door that was traditionally used for that purpose. According to the foundation stone of the new school building, the church had operated the first Sunday school in Manchester, although Shaw attributes that distinction to a Mr Fildes, a
Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...
whose establishment began operating from a Travis Street cellar in 1782. Shaw says that several other schools preceded that of St John's. Around 1781, the church had been the base for one of Manchester's eight fire engines.


Clergy

A condition imposed by Byrom was that he had the right to present the
living Living or The Living may refer to: Common meanings *Life, a condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic objects and dead organisms ** Living species, one that is not extinct *Personal life, the course of an individual human's life * ...
. The first rector, John Clowes, held the office for 62 years until his death in 1831. He was commemorated by two stone tablets in the church, one by either
Richard Westmacott Sir Richard Westmacott (15 July 17751 September 1856) was a British sculptor. Life and career Westmacott studied with his father, also named Richard Westmacott, at his studio in Mount Street, off Grosvenor Square in London before going to R ...
or his son, erected after his death and one, the only example of the work of
John Flaxman John Flaxman (6 July 1755 – 7 December 1826) was a British sculptor and draughtsman, and a leading figure in British and European Neoclassicism. Early in his career, he worked as a modeller for Josiah Wedgwood's pottery. He spent several yea ...
in Manchester, to celebrate his 50th anniversary as rector. Clowes preached the first Sunday school sermon in the Manchester area, introduced
Swedenborgianism The New Church (or Swedenborgianism) can refer to any of several historically related Christian denominations that developed under the influence of the theology of Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772). The Swedenborgian tradition is considered to ...
there and was prominent in championing Whit Walks. Clowes was succeeded by William Huntington, who had held the post of
curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are as ...
since 1826 and continued as rector until his death in 1874. Huntington established the Sunday school. Huntington's successor as rector was John Henn, who held office for 14 years before moving to
Heaton Chapel Heaton Chapel is an area in the northern part of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, it borders the Manchester districts of Levenshulme to the north, the Stockport districts of H ...
. The next rector, G. R. Youngman, was in office from 1888 until his death in 1890. His position was taken by E. F. Leach. The last rector was Herbert Edmonds.
William Cowherd William Cowherd (1763 – 24 March 1816) was an English Christian minister and vegetarianism activist. He served a congregation in Salford known as the Bible Christian Church. Cowherd advocated and encouraged members of his then small group of ...
, a Swedenborgian proponent of
teetotalism Teetotalism is the practice of voluntarily abstaining from the consumption of alcohol, specifically in alcoholic drinks. A person who practices (and possibly advocates) teetotalism is called a teetotaler (US) or teetotaller (UK), or said to b ...
and vegetarianism, was a curate in the late 1700s, before leaving to establish the
Bible Christian Church The Bible Christian Church was a Methodist denomination founded by William O'Bryan (born Bryant), a Wesleyan Methodist local preacher, on 18 October 1815 in North Cornwall. The first society, consisting of just 22 members, met at Lake Farm ...
in
Salford Salford ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Greater Manchester, England, on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester city centre. Landmarks include the former Salford Town Hall, town hall, ...
.


Demise

By the early 1900s, the graveyard was overshadowed on its northern side by a warehouse built on the Quay Street site of the Byrom family residence. The area had been residential—
Richard Cobden Richard Cobden (3 June 1804 – 2 April 1865) was an English Radicals (UK), Radical and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician, manufacturing, manufacturer, and a campaigner for free trade and peace. He was associated with the Anti–Corn Law L ...
was among those who lived nearby and attended the church—but changed in character during the 19th century, as many homes once occupied by affluent families became lodging houses and the locale became increasingly a place of business. Those who did live there, or were patients in the nearby hospitals, were poor and unable to contribute significantly to the funds of the church and its schools. Fundraising
bazaar A bazaar or souk is a marketplace consisting of multiple small Market stall, stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, Central Asia, North Africa and South Asia. They are traditionally located in vaulted or covered streets th ...
s were held in the 1890s and 1900s at the
Free Trade Hall The Free Trade Hall on Peter Street, Manchester, England, was constructed in 1853–56 on St Peter's Fields, the site of the Peterloo Massacre. It is now a Radisson Hotels, Radisson hotel. The hall was built to commemorate the repeal of the Corn ...
, in a nearby area that was more salubrious. Falling attendances due to the commercial nature of the district, and also a sense that there was some redundancy of provision given the nearby St Matthew's Church, caused the Manchester diocese to review the status of St John's and its parish in the 1920s. Following an internal review and a public consultation, in 1927 it was formally proposed that the two parishes should be merged as St Matthew's parish. The diocese preferred to retain St Matthew's and demolish St John's, at least in part because the former was a more recent construction. This was a reversal of a proposal made in 1919, when the predominantly transient
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 ...
population of the St Matthew's parish was given as a reason to merge it into St John's. The
Ecclesiastical Commissioners The Ecclesiastical Commissioners were, in England and Wales, a body corporate, whose full title was Ecclesiastical and Church Estates Commissioners for England. The commissioners were authorised to determine the distribution of revenues of the Ch ...
proposed to hand over the church site to
Manchester Corporation Manchester City Council is the local authority for the city of Manchester in Greater Manchester, England. Manchester has had an elected local authority since 1838, which has been reformed several times. Since 1974 the council has been a metropol ...
in 1929, with the hope that the city would convert it into an open space similar to Parsonage Gardens. ''
The Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' had reported a similar proposal to convert the "bleak expanse" of the graveyard into an "open, cultivated space" in 1914. The church was demolished in 1931. It is commemorated by a stone cross and a plaque states that more than 22,000 bodies lie buried in the vicinity. Among those buried in the churchyard are John Owens, founder of
Owens College Owens may refer to: Places in the United States * Owens Station, Delaware * Owens Township, St. Louis County, Minnesota * Owens, Missouri * Owens, Ohio * Owens, Texas * Owens, Virginia People * Owens (surname), including a list of people with ...
, the forerunner of
Manchester University The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...
and William Marsden, who pioneered the concept of a half-day holiday on Saturdays.


See also

* List of churches in Greater Manchester


References

Notes Citations


Further reading

* * *


External links


Genuki, St John, ManchesterArchival records of St John's ChurchThe tombstone-paved graveyard of St John's Church in 1914.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint John's Church, Manchester 1769 establishments in England 18th-century Church of England church buildings 1929 disestablishments in England
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
Churches in Manchester
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
Former buildings and structures in Manchester Gothic Revival church buildings in England Gothic Revival architecture in Greater Manchester Former churches in Greater Manchester