St Jospeh's RC Church: A charcoal impression

St Joseph's Roman Catholic Church in Tatton Street off St Petersgate dates back to 1861 and is Grade II listed.

See the original photograph on Geograph.

A contribution to The Weekend in Black and White and Inspired Sundays.

Four photographs of St Thomas's, Hillgate

I recently went past St Thomas's, Hillgate and took some new photographs. On the south side of the church the gravestones have been mostly flattened for ease of maintenance and the large tree has had its branches cut back. If you look carefully you can see a cat at the bottom of the tree.

St Thomas's Parish Church was opened in 1825 having been built as one of a hundred churches funded by grants from the government and regarded as a thanksgiving for victory over Napoleon, hence the name "Waterloo" Churches. St. Thomas was built in the classical style and is now recognised as a building of National importance being Grade I Listed.

A look down the side of the graveyard showing the pollarded tree.

The classic view from St Thomas's Place

Previous posts of St Thomas's, Hillgate:

• 24-08-14 Outside St Thomas's
• 28-08-14 Hazardous Headstones
• 31-08-14 Inside St Thomas's
• 07-09-14 Stained glass
• 21-09-14 War Memorial tablet

A contribution to Inspired Sundays.

Grotesques at St Mary's

The East end of St Mary's church is the oldest part of the building and dates from the early 1300s. It was built of sandstone and still supports the original oak roof timbers on walls 1.5 metres thick. The stonework around the windows end in grotesques.

This one is on the left hand side of the easternmost window and there is a similar one on the right.

A Grotesque is simply the carving of a face (or body and face) of an animal or creature on the side of a building. Ones that incorporate drainage spouts are termed gargoyles. Gargoyles are therefore a sub-division of Grotesques.

This one is in the middle of the window.

A contribution to Inspired Sundays.

C is for Charles Cummings' Commemorative Cross in Cheadle Churchyard

In St Mary's churchyard, Cheadle is the stump of a 14th/15th century sandstone cross It was restored in the 19th century as a memorial to Charles James Cummings as described on a copper commemorative plaque.

The plaque reads:

THIS CROSS WAS RESTORED BY LOVING FRIENDS
TO THE GLORY OF GOD
AND IN MEMORY OF CHARLES JAMES CUMMINGS, M.A,
FOR 26 YEARS RECTOR OF CHEADLE.
HE DIED 10th OCT.1873.AGED 52 YEARS.

It is Grade II listed and described as

Red sandstone. Square shaft with chamfered corners with bar stops at base. Each face has a small niche with cusped head and continuous hoodmould. The upper stage diminishes and is terminated by a weathering. The top is missing. Moulded square base with copper commemorative plaque.

A contribution to ABC Wednesday.

St Mark's in the rain

I last featured the church of St Mark's, Bredbury and Woodley in June 2014. This time it was raining heavily and I got raindrops on the lens as I photographed the lych gate.

I used the shelter of the lych gate to photograph the church. St Mark's is a Grade II listed building which was built 1847-8 by Shellard for the Church Commissioners with dressed stone, ashlar and slate roofs.

Visit the Church website for details of its current activities.

A contribution to Inspired Sundays and Blue Monday.

St Thomas, Heaton Chapel

St Thomas: Heaton Chapel was consecrated in 1765. There is some dispute about whether or not the original dedication was to St Thomas the Apostle or one of the other St Thomas's. Originally it was known as St Thomas, Heaton Norris. It became a church with is own parish in 1838. In 2005 the five Heaton's parishes were reunited under a team ministry.

From outside the church looks unusual, and has no pretension to beauty. The central part, the Nave, is the oldest, mostly dating to around 1758, although the moulding over the windows, the mullions, and the glass are 1870. The buttresses are also 1870 apart from that nearest to the Chancel, which is 1936.

The entrance to the church was for a time on Buckingham Road, but the original entrance has now been returned to use - this is reached via the Lych Gate, passing the First World War memorial. This original entrance facing Wellington Road North is a 1960 rebuild, with a Wardens Vestry to its left. The door leads into a Narthex from which two doors lead in to the Nave.

The Lych Gate was erected in memory of T Beaumont, for many years a warden. A service of dedication was held at 7.45pm on 17th July, 1890. Originally this had a gas light installed.

Much of this information is from a history of the church originally written in 1979 © Stephen Shaw, the text of which, together with some recent updates, can be found online at Shawweb.

A contribution to Inspired Sundays.

Stained Glass in St Peter's Church

Following up from the recent post Inside St Peter's church here are close-ups of the five Belgian stained glass windows by Carponnier (1889). Click on the images to open up the full-sized photographs.

The outer left window depicts St Petrus (Peter).

The inner left window depicts St Mary.

The middle window depicts the crucifixion.

It carries the wording

"These windows were placed here to the glory of God and as an affectionate memorial of the Revd Henry Wright and Mary Catherine his wife by their daughter Julia Catherine Wright 1889."

The inner right window depicts St Johannes (John).

The outer right window depicts St Stephanus (Stephen).

A contribution to Inspired Sundays.

Agony in the Garden

As a follow-up to last week's post Inside St Peter's, here is a close-up of the reredos.

The focal point of the church is the High Altar, with the reredos painting of the Agony in the Garden and was given in memory of John Mottershead. It was commissioned to replace the original Victorian picture of the same subject by J. H. E. Partington which had been overpainted. It portrays our Lord in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night of his betrayal.

"And He knelt down and prayed saying, Father, if Thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but Thine be done. And there appeared an angel from heaven, strengthening him. And being in agony he prayed the more earnestly." Luke 22 vv41-44.

The artist, J. Martin Pitts, describes the scene as

one in which Heaven and Earth overlap. Contained within the ordinary is the extra-ordinary. Awareness and knowledge of this are the essence of religious experience, and we believe we are never closer to this than when we share together in the Holy Communion.

A contribution to Inspired Sundays.

Inside St Peter's Church

I posted previously about St Peter's in June 2013. I recently paid another visit and took several photographs inside the church.

The focal point of the church is the High Altar, with the reredos painting of the Agony in the Garden which was given in memory of John Mottershead. The east wall has five Belgian stained glass windows by Carponnier placed here to the glory of God and as an affectionate memorial of the Revd Henry Wright and Mary Catherine his wife by their daughter Julia Catherine Wright 1889.

The gallery displays the Blessed Sacrament banner, and those of the Communicants Guilds: St Peter (men) Our Lady (women) St Stephen (boys) and St Agnes (girls), together with the MU banner.

I'll post close-ups of the reredos and the stained glass at a later date.

A contribution to Inspired Sundays.

High Bank Side Path

The footpath leading from Chestergate under the High Bankside retaining wall towards St Petersgate and St Mary's church.

View the original photograph from which this was created on Geograph.

A contribution to Good Fences and The Weekend in Black and White.

Photo of the Year: Rostron Brow

Rostron Brow leads from Lower Hillgate up to St Mary's Parish Church.

I have chosen this as my Photo of the Year 2014 - see what other City Daily Photobloggers chose for their Photo of the Year by visiting JANUARY 2015 GALLERY - PHOTO OF THE YEAR.

In and out of St Mary's in the Marketplace

Stockport Parish Church is known as St Mary's in the Marketplace. It is a Grade I listed building.

Inside it has stained glass by several different makers, including the East window by O'Connor, 1849.

Outside it has a gateway built of ashlar stone by Lewis Wyatt in the shape of an elaborate Gothic screen forming three pointed archways with crocketed finials above the centre arch. The gateway is Grade II* listed.

The exit from the church leads directly into the Market Hall.

A contribution to
Inspired Sundays;
Whimsical Windows, Delirious Doors.

War Memorial tablet in St Thomas's, Hillgate

Previous posts have shown
The outside of St Thomas's;
The inside of St Thomas's;
The stained glass at St Thomas's.

On one wall of the church is a memorial reading:
"This tablet is erected in grateful and loving memory of the above named
men of St Thomas's church and parish who laid down their lives in the Great War 1914-1919"
Beneath it is a Votive Candle stand where those who wish to may light a candle for someone who is ill or in need, or to mark an anniversary.

The nearby Memorial Book contains names of former parishioners and worshippers who are remembered in the prayers on their anniversary, every year.

The names listed in the four panels of the war memorial are:
Charles Adams
Fred Adams
Walter Barnet
Walter Birchenough
Stephen Blackshaw
William D Blackshaw
Frederick Brady
James Briggs
James Broadhurst
John T Brocklehurst
Henry Brown
Harry C Buckland
Edward Burgess
Ernest Clarke
Frank Corlett
James Cumston
Joseph Davenport
John Davies
William Donbavand
John Edward Dudley
Henry Edge
Vincent Fletcher
Joseph Barlow

***

Joseph Fox
Harold Garner
William Garner
Ernest Gibson
Frank Gorst
Edwin Gray
William Greenhalgh
George Kinsey Gresty
William Thomas Hague
Herbert Hamer
John Harrison
William Hayes
John Hester
John Holmes
Herbert Hooley
Sidney Hulme
Charles Jackson
Joshua Jackson
William Jackson
Arthur Jordan
Alfred Kaye

***

George Kinder
Edward Kirkpatrick
Samuel Knowles
Francis Knight
Neville Lewis
Joseph Littlewood
John Taylor Lomax
George Ludlow
Henry Marsden
George Mather
Joseph Mather
Thomas Blackshaw Mather
Alfred Moore
Henry Moore
John William Mott
George Mottram
Frederick Oldham
William Oldham
John Pearson
Davenport Pennington
George Potts
Percy Pratt
William McCarthy

***

Frederick Pyott
Henry Salt
John Joshua Savage
William Edward Shepherdson
Gerald Slack
Ernest Smith
Isaac Smith
George Southam
Frederick Swain
Alfred Thorley
John Thorley
Mark Thorley
Walter Thorley
Harold G Townley
Robert Travis
Robert Arthur Walley
Edmund Ward
Richard Waterfield
Frank Watts
Charles Wilkinson
Charles Williamson
George Wilson
Visit the Church website for more information on St Thomas's.

A contribution to Inspired Sundays.

Da Vinci's Coffee House and Eatery

The sign for Da Vinci's Coffee House and Eatery.

It stands on the corner of St Petersgate and Tatton Street.

In 2009 it was the Stockport Arms. Tatton Street leads to St Joseph's RC Church.

A contribution to signs, signs.

I is for Images of Stockport

This piece of artwork recently appeared in St Peter's Churchyard. I couldn't see an artist's signature on it. It features St Mary's church, the Market Hall, a sign to the Underbanks and some more esoteric images like a balloon, a chicken laying eggs and a pair of headphones, the relevance of which I don't fully understand. I have been unable to find out any information about who may have painted this nor why it has been placed here. People I spoke to in the church didn't seem to know.

In the background over the railings is the roof of the former Co-op (now Primark) on Chestergate/Merseyway.

A contribution to
ABC Wednesday;
Outdoor Wednesday;
signs, signs.

Postboxes on St Peter's Square

This double-fronted postbox is located outside the former Prudential building in St Peter's Square. The postboxes are labelled SK1 386 (left) and SK1 385 (right). On the right is a postbox for "franked mail" only.

This view is from the other side looking past the statue of Richard Cobden towards St Peter's Church. For more information about St Peter's Church see our post dated 16th June 2013. For more information and a better view of the statue see my photograph on Geograph.

The distinctive business postbox for franked mail was introduced in the mid-1990s. Before the advent of such boxes, franked mail could not be posted in a letter box and thus had to be handed in at a post or sorting office unless the business had a visit from the postman. (The reason for this is that ordinary stamped mail would be sent to the sorting office and postmarked, whereas franked mail is already dated by the sender's franking machine.)

Because it is designed for business mail, it is found usually in business parks and industrial estates or in areas of town which are heavily occupied by businesses – and has relatively late final collection times.

It is opened by pulling down the black handle on the sliding opening, and when the final collection of the day is made it will be locked shut and reopened the next weekday morning (including Saturday if the box has a Saturday collection). This is because, as franked mail is dated by the customer rather than at the sorting office, it must be posted on the same day as the date indicated on the franked impression. By accepting later items which would not be collected till the following day, it would give the false impression that Royal Mail had taken a day longer to deliver the item. Information courtesy of Chris Downer.

More information about "franking" can be found on the Royal Mail website.

A contribution to Ruby Tuesday and Our World Tuesday.

Stained glass at St Thomas's

A fortnight ago I showed you the outside of St Thomas's and then last week the inside of St Thomas's.

This week I am showing some of the stained glass windows.

One of the four windows on the south wall no longer exists.

There are at least two more stained glass windows in the church but their placements make them very difficult to photograph.

Since 2012, St. Thomas has been placed on the English Heritage Buildings at Risk register, and the group "Friends of St. Thomas" was set up in 2013 as a way of securing the future of the church for generations to come.

Visit the Church website for more information.

A contribution to
Inspired Sundays;
Whimsical Windows, Delirious Doors;
Monday Murals.

Inside St Thomas's Parish Church

Following on from last week's post showing the outside of St Thomas's here are views of the inside of the church.

Above the High Altar is a painting of the "Transfiguration of Our Lord", a copy of part of a painting by Raphael which hangs in the Vatican. The East wall is decorated with acanthus leaf, a popular classical Greek design.

The three-manual organ was made in 1834 by Samuel Renn. Its choir division was added in 1890 by Alex Young, and the organ was cleaned and overhauled in 1961 by Jardine. More details can be found on the The National Pipe Organ Register.

The pews in the gallery are the original Georgian ones whilst the others are Victorian replacements.

Since 2012, St. Thomas has been placed on the English Heritage Buildings at Risk register, and the group "Friends of St. Thomas" was set up in 2013 as a way of securing the future of the church for generations to come.

Visit the Church website for more information.

Next week I'll show you some of the stained glass windows.

A contribution to Inspired Sundays.