Meadow Ln, Haughton Green
This church is of timber-frame construction and it was built in 1874/6.
The architects were Messrs Medland and Henry Taylor of Manchester who were James Medland Taylor (aka Medland, 1834-1909) and Henry Medland Taylor (aka Henry, 1837-1916).
The design was inspired by the nearby Church of St Lawrence in Denton. The foundation stone was laid by its benefactor, James Walton, on the 11 Apr 1874 and the church was consecrated on the 25 Mar 1876
by the Bishop of Manchester, Rt Revd James Fraser.
James Walton (1802-1883) of Sowerby, Halifax, Yorkshire, was the owner of Haughton Dale Mills (the Wireworks). He was also responsible for building Haughton Dale School in 1858, better known as the Iron School, and a row of cottages named Haughton Terrace. The school was located between Meadow Ln and Worth's Ln with an entrance from Worth's Ln and the cottages were on the east side of Meadow Ln close to the church.
The first rector was the Revd Edmund Vernon Schuster who was resident at the nearby rectory of St Lawrence's Church, on Vaudrey Ln, until a rectory was provided. By 1881 he had moved into the newly built rectory on Meadow Ln. Edmund Vernon Schuster was born in the Cheetham District of Manchester in 1848 to Samuel Schuster, a merchant, and Friederike Speyer who were married at Frankfurt, Hessen, Germany, on the 6 Jun 1838. He married Isabelle Annie Baynes at Blackburn Cathedral (St Mary the Virgin) on the 20 Jun 1876 and their son, Revd Harold Vernon Schuster, was born on the 30 Jul 1878 at Tavistock, Devon.
St Mary's Church is listed Grade II, List Entry No. 1067968.
Church of St Mary the Virgin, Jul 2005.
Lychgate
The lychgate dates from c.1875 and it was also by Medland and Henry Taylor. The slated roof is supported by a timber frame that, in turn, rests on stone walls.
The two posts rise from, and are braced to, sole plates attached to the walls. The upper parts of the posts are braced to tie-beam trusses on each side and the eaves and verges overhang the roof trusses.
The lychgate is listed Grade II, List Entry No. 1356486, including the timber gates hung on iron hinges.
Lychgate, Jul 2005.
Rectory of St Mary's Church
In 1881, James Walton provided funds to build a rectory on the east side of Meadow Ln on a piece of land known as Wall Bank.
The plans for the rectory were approved by Haughton Local Board on the 9 May 1881. The architects were the same as for the church and their business address was 2 St Ann's Churchyard, Manchester.
The builder was Samuel Robinson of Hyde, the firm being run by two brothers. The title deed was dated 31 Jul 1882 and this transferred the land from James Walton to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners for England.
The last rector to live at the rectory was the Revd Charles Burke. His successor, the Revd David Smethurst, refused to live at the rectory and consequently, on the 7 Jun 1967, the Church Commissioners sold it to Alfred and Florrie Challenor Chadwick for £4,000. The building was then converted to a restaurant and later to a hotel as well. During their tenure, the interior of the building was extensively altered and extensions were added externally. They sold the building and business in 1988 and by 2009 it was owned by the Ailantus Hotel Group.
Demolition of the rectory commenced on the 6 Jun 2011 and the work was completed shortly afterwards.
Location of St Mary's Church and Rectory, early 20th century.
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Rectory of St Mary's Church viewed from Meadow Ln, early 20th century. |
Rectory of St Mary's Church, early 20th century. |
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Rectory of St Mary's Church, Feb 2009. The single-storey extension to the left of the rectory and the building at the back are not original features. |
Rectory of St Mary's Church, viewed from Meadow Ln, Mar 2009. |
Rolls of Honour
Two war memorials were remounted in the churchyard in 1980 after the demolition of St Mary's School where they were originally located.
| 1914-1919 Percy BARLOW Alfred BASON Arthur BIRD James BIRTWISTLE Horace BROWN Sidney DAVIES Albert Edward DOWNS James DOWNS John William DOWNS Harold FRANCE Harry GARDINER | George GEE Kay GILLIBRAND Raymond HOWARD Samuel HOWARD Walter JACKSON Henry JONES Fred KNOWLES James KNOWLES Benjamin REDFERN John STANSFIELD Tom STENTON John Pollitt WHITEHEAD | 1939-1945 Arthur Harold FOLEY Edward Gresswell HADFIELD John KEY Lewis SIMMONS John Henry WILSON |
Rolls of Honour for the Churchyard
Seven casualties have been identified who are buried in the churchyard, five from the Great War and two from the Second World War.
| 1914-1918 Richard BERRY Percy BRADDOCK John William DOWNS Harry GARDINER Thomas George HUGHES | 1939-1945 Edward Gresswell HADFIELD John KEY |
