A Puginian Gothic church designed by the notable Catholic architects Weightman & Hadfield. It is part of a good local group of mid-nineteenth century churches by the firm, that includes St Charles Borromeo and St Joseph, Stockport. The sanctuary has been reordered but the building retains some good fittings. The spire is a landmark in the conservation area.

The mission was founded by Fr Joseph Collins, who came to New Mills in 1839. The building cost £4,000, raised locally and with assistance from Lord  Howard of Glossop. A school was built in 1860, on land previously acquired for the purpose; this building and a plot of land were sold for residential conversion and development in about 2005. In the 1930s Fr Heald built a presbytery and a grotto and reordered the church interior. In 1982 the parish acquired the adjoining Labour and Trades Club with a bowling green.

Description

The large church is designed in Decorated Gothic style. It is constructed of local sandstone with a steeply-pitched Welsh slate roof and traceried pointed windows. The plans consists of four-bay nave, west tower, south porch, north and south aisles, two-bay chancel and side chapels, articulated by separate roofs according to Pugin’s principles. The west tower has a broach spire faced in stone, with entrance below.

Inside, the church has pointed arcades on octagonal piers and an open roof with tie-beam trusses and arched struts. The pine-fronted west gallery and screen was installed in the 1950s; the older pipe organ was relocated here after being moved to the Lady Chapel in the 1930s. The open-backed pews are pitch pine. The sanctuary has been reordered and the rails removed; the stone altar with quatrefoils and marble colonettes was moved here from the Sacred Heart chapel. The east window sanctuary glass is by Wailes of Newcastle, nave window are glazed with plain leaded glass. The octagonal stone font has been moved from the original baptistery at the west end. The interior has a collection of fifteen late nineteenth or early twentieth century statues, mounted on foliated corbels on the outer walls. The Stations of the Cross were installed in 1987.

Heritage Details