History of St. Mary's, Cadishead

History of St. Mary’s, Cadishead

The church

Prior to 1929, the congregation of the parish worshipped in a temporary building known affectionately as the ‘tin church’. Land was acquired and permission granted by the then Bishop of Manchester for the erection of a permanent building. The corner stone was ceremonially laid by Sir W.P. Rylands JP, and blessed by Rev. C. Keeling, Rural Dean of Heaton. The church was built by Brew Brothers of Moss Lane, Cadishead. On February 2nd 1929 the church was consecrated.

For various reasons the design of the church was amended and a proposed tower was never built. The east wall was not completed until 1968. The East Window symbolises the Epiphany and was donated by parishioners, after much work by Rev Bakker, Wills and Weaver. It is dedicated to the fallen of both world wars.

The present main porch was built during Rev. A.J. Booth’s incumbency. Following his suggestion, the Lady Chapel was furnished in 1977 from the Mission to Seamen. The Garden of Remembrance was also formed during Rev. Booth’s incumbency and was consecrated in 1980 by the Rt. Rev. Ted Wickham, Bishop of Hulme.

The re-ordering of the Sanctuary and chancel took place in several stages during the incumbency of Rev. D. Ridley. In the first stage, the chancel was opened up, the altar and rails were made free standing, the vicar’s stall was sited on a raised dais to the left of the altar and the choir pews were moved into the main body of the church. Additionally the Sanctuary, chancel, organ chamber and Lady Chapel were carpeted. In the second stage (in the mid 90s), the pulpit was removed and a second clergy stall sited on a raised dais to the right of the main altar.

Thanks to several donations of portable church furniture, we can now easily adapt the church for modern worship and, when required, for church concerts and fairs.

Banner remembering those from the First World War

You may have your own memories of St. Mary’s. Why not send them to us?

The church hall

The parish hall was built during the incumbency of Rev. E. Atkinson and completed in 1972. This was helped by the resiting of St. Mary’s Day School and also by much hard work by parishioners. The hall has been used for many varied social groups and functions over the years, as well as providing a meeting place for the young church. Recent improvements include the refurbishment of the kitchen, wall-to-wall carpeting, and upgrading the gentlemen’s toilet so that it is now wheel-chair accessible.

Ministers
past and present

Rev Hendrik Bakker	1929-1947
Rev Percy Wills	1948-1950
Rev Frank Weaver	1951-1970
Rev Eric Atkinson	1971-1974
Rev Alex Booth	1975-1986
Rev Derek Ridley	1986-1999
Rev Lesley Ridley (curate)	1986-1999
Rev Jonathan Tallon Rev Audrey Kay	2001-2009 2010- ___

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