Manchester - St Ann's Church
CHURCH OF ST ANN, ST ANN STREET, MANCHESTER
Heritage Category: Listed Building
Grade: I
List Entry Number: 1247612
National Grid Reference: SJ 83784 98354
Details
SJ 8398 SE, 698-1/27/384
MANCHESTER, ST ANN STREET (South side), Church of St Ann
25/02/52
GV
I
Church. 1709-12 (traditionally said to have been designed by Sir Christopher Wren or one of his pupils); restored 1886-91 by Alfred Waterhouse. Sandstone ashlar, hipped slate roof. Classical style. Nave with east apse and west tower. The 2-storey 6-bay nave has coupled pilasters to both levels, the lower being fluted Corinthian and the upper plain, both with cornices, each bay containing large round-headed windows with keystones, and the westernmost a square headed doorway in a large pedimented tetrastyle Corinthian doorcase with fluted columns; and a pilastered parapet (formerly with urns). The semi-circular full-height apse has tall fluted Corinthian pilasters, a full entablature with carved emblems on the frieze, a very prominent cornice, and large round-headed windows with panelled aprons, moulded imposts and enriched keystones. The square west tower has four stages divided by string courses and a mid-height cornice, rusticated clasping corner pilasters to the lower half, a Tuscan pilaster west doorway, coupled round-headed lancets to the second stage, an oculus in a blank arch to the third stage (and clock-faces under segmental pediments in the north and south sides), a belfry stage with coupled fluted Corinthian pilasters framing round-headed 3-light louvred belfry windows with keystones, and a moulded cornice and balustraded parapet (originally surrounding a 3-stage cupola).
INTERIOR: galleries on three sides, supported by stout Tuscan columns (replacing square pillars), and with upper arcades on original slender Tuscan columns; most furnishings dating from C19 restoration, including choir in nave, but fragments of original pulpit and communion rail survive. Stained glass by Frederick Shields.
HISTORY: second oldest church in Manchester, built as part of early C18 development of St Ann's Square; formerly had strong Whig and Anti-Jacobite connections; John Wesley preached here 1733 and 1738, Thomas De Quincey was baptized here 1785.
Listing NGR: SJ8378898353
historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1247612
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St Ann's, Manchester, 1709-12.
Grade l listed.
Founded by Lady Ann Bland as a Whig and anti-Jacobite alternative to the High Church Tory faction centring on the collegiate church.
St Ann's Church in Manchester was consecrated in 1712. Although named after St Anne, it also pays tribute to the patron of the church, Ann, Lady Bland. 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.
The church was an impressive building and although it 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 in Lancashire, Hollington in Staffordshire, Darley Dale in Derbyshire and Runcorn in Cheshire. When the church was first constructed, the interior was extremely 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 of York.
The tower of the church marks the centre of the city; surveyors used it as a platform to measure distances to other locations. Their benchmark remains visible at the tower door.
The Mosleys were the Lords of the Manor of Manchester and in 1693 the manor was inherited by Ann, Lady 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, 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 June 1712, the church was consecrated by the Bishop of Chester and was dedicated to Saint Anne, 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, where a memorial plaque commemorates her life.
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 sympathies.
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. In 1729, Sir Oswald Mosley built an exchange, not far from the site of the present Royal Exchange. 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's St Matthew's, Campfield (built 1823–25, demolished 1950).
Manchester - St Ann's Church
CHURCH OF ST ANN, ST ANN STREET, MANCHESTER
Heritage Category: Listed Building
Grade: I
List Entry Number: 1247612
National Grid Reference: SJ 83784 98354
Details
SJ 8398 SE, 698-1/27/384
MANCHESTER, ST ANN STREET (South side), Church of St Ann
25/02/52
GV
I
Church. 1709-12 (traditionally said to have been designed by Sir Christopher Wren or one of his pupils); restored 1886-91 by Alfred Waterhouse. Sandstone ashlar, hipped slate roof. Classical style. Nave with east apse and west tower. The 2-storey 6-bay nave has coupled pilasters to both levels, the lower being fluted Corinthian and the upper plain, both with cornices, each bay containing large round-headed windows with keystones, and the westernmost a square headed doorway in a large pedimented tetrastyle Corinthian doorcase with fluted columns; and a pilastered parapet (formerly with urns). The semi-circular full-height apse has tall fluted Corinthian pilasters, a full entablature with carved emblems on the frieze, a very prominent cornice, and large round-headed windows with panelled aprons, moulded imposts and enriched keystones. The square west tower has four stages divided by string courses and a mid-height cornice, rusticated clasping corner pilasters to the lower half, a Tuscan pilaster west doorway, coupled round-headed lancets to the second stage, an oculus in a blank arch to the third stage (and clock-faces under segmental pediments in the north and south sides), a belfry stage with coupled fluted Corinthian pilasters framing round-headed 3-light louvred belfry windows with keystones, and a moulded cornice and balustraded parapet (originally surrounding a 3-stage cupola).
INTERIOR: galleries on three sides, supported by stout Tuscan columns (replacing square pillars), and with upper arcades on original slender Tuscan columns; most furnishings dating from C19 restoration, including choir in nave, but fragments of original pulpit and communion rail survive. Stained glass by Frederick Shields.
HISTORY: second oldest church in Manchester, built as part of early C18 development of St Ann's Square; formerly had strong Whig and Anti-Jacobite connections; John Wesley preached here 1733 and 1738, Thomas De Quincey was baptized here 1785.
Listing NGR: SJ8378898353
historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1247612
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
St Ann's, Manchester, 1709-12.
Grade l listed.
Founded by Lady Ann Bland as a Whig and anti-Jacobite alternative to the High Church Tory faction centring on the collegiate church.
St Ann's Church in Manchester was consecrated in 1712. Although named after St Anne, it also pays tribute to the patron of the church, Ann, Lady Bland. 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.
The church was an impressive building and although it 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 in Lancashire, Hollington in Staffordshire, Darley Dale in Derbyshire and Runcorn in Cheshire. When the church was first constructed, the interior was extremely 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 of York.
The tower of the church marks the centre of the city; surveyors used it as a platform to measure distances to other locations. Their benchmark remains visible at the tower door.
The Mosleys were the Lords of the Manor of Manchester and in 1693 the manor was inherited by Ann, Lady 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, 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 June 1712, the church was consecrated by the Bishop of Chester and was dedicated to Saint Anne, 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, where a memorial plaque commemorates her life.
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 sympathies.
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. In 1729, Sir Oswald Mosley built an exchange, not far from the site of the present Royal Exchange. 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's St Matthew's, Campfield (built 1823–25, demolished 1950).