St Philip's Church is an Anglican parish church in the diocese of

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 ...

, in the deanery and archdeaconry of

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, ...

. The church was renamed in 2016 as Saint Philip's Chapel Street. It is located at Wilton Place, off Chapel Street in

, Greater Manchester, England. The structure is registered as a Grade II* listed building on England's

National Heritage List The Australian National Heritage List or National Heritage List (NHL) is a heritage register, a list of National heritage site, national heritage places deemed to be of outstanding heritage significance to Australia, established in 2003. The li ...

. It was a

Commissioners' church A Commissioners' church, also known as a Waterloo church and Million Act church, is an Anglicanism, Anglican church in England or Wales built with money voted by Parliament of the United Kingdom, Parliament as a result of the (58 Geo. 3. ...

, having received a subsidy from the Church Building Commission for its erection.

Sir Robert Smirke Sir Robert Smirke (1 October 1780 – 18 April 1867) was an English architect, one of the leaders of Greek Revival architecture, though he also used other architectural styles (such as Gothic and Tudor). As an attached (i.e. official) arch ...

, the church's architect, reused his design for St Mary's Church, Bryanston Square, London. The tower design was also employed at Wandsworth's St Anne's Church.

History

Smirke designed the church, which was completed between 1822 and 1824. The Church Building Commission provided a grant of £16,804 (equivalent to £1,510,000 in 2020) to help fund its construction. J. Medland Taylor reorganised the inside of the church in 1895. The neighbouring church of St Stephen closed in 1962, and the parishes amalgamated to form St Philip with St Stephen.

Architecture

Exterior

The exterior of St Philip's is made of ashlar stone. It was built in the Greek Revival style. It features an undivided design, with a bell tower atop a semi-circular portico to the south. The church's body is divided into two levels. The upper floor windows are round-headed, while the lower-storey windows are straight-headed. On the north and south sides, are nine bays, and on the east and west sides, are three bays. The portico encloses a semi-circular porch, covering the central three bays on the south side. An Ionic colonnade with a balustraded parapet supports the portico. Plain pilasters separate the bell tower's round-arched apertures, which are alternately open and blind. Above this stage there are four

clock A clock or chronometer is a device that measures and displays time. The clock is one of the oldest Invention, human inventions, meeting the need to measure intervals of time shorter than the natural units such as the day, the lunar month, a ...

faces, and the summit is capped by a

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

. The clock was made by Whitehurst and Company of

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

. On the west front are three doorways; the central bay projects slightly forward, and has a

pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...

ed doorway.

Interior

The church's interior has galleries on three sides. The

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

in the east window dates from the middle to late 19th Century; it was designed by R. B. Edmundson of

. In the southeast chapel is a memorial to the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

by Humphries, Jackson and Ambler, also of Manchester.

Organ

The two- manual organ was made by Renn and Boston in 1829. It was moved forward from a position above the west door to the west gallery in 1873 by Alex Young and Company, who also carried out modifications. The organ was cleaned and restored in 1915 by Wadsworth and Company. In 1963,

Noel Mander Noel Percy Mander Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, MBE, FSA (19 May 1912 – 18 September 2005) was a British organ builder and founder of the firm N.P Mander later known as Mander Organs Limited. A native of Crouch, Se ...

, performed further restoration of the organ including reversing some of 1873 modifications to maintain its historic character.

Present day

Services and other activities

Saint Philips provides a number of

worship Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity or God. For many, worship is not about an emotion, it is more about a recognition of a God. An act of worship may be performed individually, in an informal or formal group, ...

services; 9:30 am (

Common Worship ''Common Worship'' is the name given to the series of services authorised by the General Synod of the Church of England and launched on the first Sunday of Advent in 2000. It represents the most recent stage of development of the Liturgical M ...

Communion service), 10:45 am (vibrant and contemporary service, including groups for children), and 6:30 pm (contemporary service) each Sunday. The church runs a vibrant range of events and community activities, groups, and initiatives throughout the week, including

Alpha Alpha (uppercase , lowercase ) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of one. Alpha is derived from the Phoenician letter ''aleph'' , whose name comes from the West Semitic word for ' ...

for those exploring the Christian faith, Chapel Tots on Tuesdays for families and carers with babies and toddlers, Bags of Hope, Foodbank, student groups and youth groups. Saint Philips works with St Philip's Church of England Primary School, located on Barrow Street.

Notes

The size of the grant was greater than the actual construction cost (as shown in the infobox) because it also included contributions towards the cost of the site, legal fees, etc.

References

External links

Saint Philips Chapel Street
Website {{DEFAULTSORT:Salford, St Philip Church of England church buildings in Greater Manchester Anglican Diocese of Manchester 19th-century Church of England church buildings Commissioners' church buildings

St Philip Philip the Apostle (; Aramaic: ܦܝܠܝܦܘܣ; , ''Philippos'') was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Later Christian traditions describe Philip as the apostle who preached in Greece, Syria, and Asia-Minor. In ...

Grade II* listed churches in Greater Manchester Neoclassical church buildings in England