Salford Cathedral

{{Short description|Catholic cathedral in Salford, Greater Manchester, England}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Use British English|date=November 2025}} {{Infobox church | name = Salford Cathedral | full_name = Cathedral Church of St. John the Evangelist | image = The Roman Catholic Cathedral Church of St John the Evangelist - geograph.org.uk - 6674142.jpg | alt = | caption = Exterior of Salford Cathedral | pushpin_map = Greater Manchester | pushpin_label_position = | pushpin_map_alt = | pushpin_mapsize = | map_caption = Location within Greater Manchester | coordinates = {{coord|53.4836|-2.2610|region:GB_type:landmark|display=inline,title}} | location = [[Salford]], [[Greater Manchester]] | country = [[England]] | denomination = [[Catholic]] | tradition = Catholic | website = [https://salfordcathedral.co.uk/] | former_name = | consecrated = {{Start date and age|1890|df=yes}} | status = Active | functional_status = Active | heritage_designation = Grade II* listed<ref name="nhle">{{NHLE |num=1386115 |desc=Cathedral of St John and attached Cathedral House, Chapel Street |grade=II* |access-date=17 September 2014}}</ref> | designated = | previous_cathedrals = | architect = [[Matthew Ellison Hadfield]] | architectural_type = | style = [[Gothic Revival architecture|Gothic Revival]] and [[Neo-gothic architecture|neo-Gothic]] | years_built = 1844–48 | groundbreaking = | completed = | construction_cost = | closed = | demolished = | capacity = | length = | width = | height = | archdiocese = | metropolis = | deanery = Salford | diocese = [[Diocese of Salford|Salford]] | province = [[Province of Liverpool|Liverpool]] (since 1911) | bishop = [[John Arnold (bishop)|Rt. Rev. John Arnold]] | dean = Rev. Fr. Michael Jones }} The '''Cathedral Church of St. John the Evangelist''', usually known as '''Salford Cathedral''', is a [[Catholic]] cathedral on Chapel Street in [[Salford]], [[Greater Manchester]], England. It is the seat of the [[Bishop of Salford]] and [[mother church]] of the [[Diocese of Salford]], and is a Grade II* [[listed building]].<ref name="nhle" />

== History == [[File:Salford Cathedral.jpg|thumb|left|Interior of the Cathedral]] St. John's Church, Salford, was built between 1844 and 1848 to designs of [[Matthew Ellison Hadfield]] (1812–1885) of Weightman and Hadfield of Sheffield,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pevsner |first1=Nikolaus |date=1969 |title=The Buildings of England. South Lancashire |publisher=Penguin Books |page=390 |isbn=0140710361 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Hill |first1=Rosemary |date=2008 |title=God's Architect: Pugin and the Building of Romantic Britain |publisher=Penguin Books |page=178 |isbn= 0140280995 }}</ref> by Benjamin Hollins of Manchester. Hadfield's design for St. John's, the first [[cruciform]] Catholic church to be built in England since the [[Reformation]], was closely modelled on a number of noted medieval churches. The "west" (actually south) front and nave are copied on a reduced scale from [[Church of SS Peter & Paul, Howden|Howden Minster]] in the [[East Riding of Yorkshire]]; the choir and sanctuary are closely modelled on those of [[Selby Abbey]] in [[North Yorkshire]]; the decorations of the [[groin vault|groined vault]] are copied from the church of St Jacques in [[Liège]], Belgium; the tower and spire, the latter the tallest in Lancashire at the time of building, are derived from the [[Church of St. Mary Magdalene, Newark-on-Trent|church of St Mary Magdalene, Newark-on-Trent]] in Nottinghamshire.

Two local businessmen, Daniel Lee (d. 1858) and John Leeming (d. 1877), each donated £1,000 towards the cost of the church and furnishings; both benefactors are commemorated in [[chantries]] at the [[liturgical east]] end of the choir. The cathedral's "east" window of 1856, by [[William Wailes]] of [[Newcastle upon Tyne|Newcastle]], depicts the history of Catholic Christianity in England, from the conversion of [[Æthelberht of Kent|Ethelbert]] by [[St. Augustine of Canterbury|St. Augustine]] in 597, to the restoration of the Catholic hierarchy in 1850. The total cost of building the cathedral was £18,000.

[[File:Cathedral Church of Saint John the Evangelist, Salford (7329039594).jpg|thumb|Outside the Cathedral]]

The foundation stone was laid in 1844 by Bishop [[James Sharples (bishop)|James Sharples]], [[Coadjutor bishop|coadjutor]] to Bishop [[George Hilary Brown|George Brown]], [[Vicar Apostolic of the Lancashire District]]. The church was opened on 9 August 1848: Bishop Brown celebrated a Solemn High Mass in the presence of the Bishops of the other Vicariates of England and Wales. St. John's was elevated to [[cathedral]] status in 1852 following the erection in September 1850 of the Diocese of Salford, becoming one of the first four Catholic cathedrals in England and Wales since the [[English Reformation]].<ref>Decree of the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, 21 April 1852. The other churches raised to cathedrals by this decree were [[St George's Cathedral, Southwark|St George's, Southwark]], [[St. Chad's Cathedral, Birmingham|St Chad's, Birmingham]] and [[Nottingham Cathedral|St Barnabas, Nottingham]]: ''Decreta Quatuor Conciliorum Provincialium Westmonasteriensium'', (2nd Edn, London: Burns & Oates), p.56; translation in: Robert Guy OSB, ''The Synods in English'' (Stratford-on-Avon: St Gregory Press, 1886) p.101.</ref> On 25 July 1851, [[William Turner (bishop of Salford)|William Turner]] was consecrated the first [[Bishop of Salford]] in St. John's. In the same ceremony the Rector of St. John's, [[George Errington (bishop)|George Errington]] was consecrated first [[Roman Catholic Bishop of Plymouth|Bishop of Plymouth]].

Thirty years later in October 1881, a violent storm caused serious damage to the cathedral's {{convert|240|ft|m|1|adj=on}} spire. Canon Beesley, then the administrator, succeeded in raising funds for repairs to the spire and generally refurbishing the fabric of the building. He also oversaw the furnishing of the new chapel of the blessed sacrament in the "south" transept in 1884, to designs of [[Peter Paul Pugin]], third son of [[Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin|A.W.N. Pugin]].

By early 1890, the last £1,000 was paid to settle the original debt for the building of the cathedral, which led to the consecration of the cathedral in the same year by the second Bishop of Salford, [[Herbert Vaughan]], later to become Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster.

In 1919–20, the turrets on the "west" front were found to be in danger of collapsing on to the street below. They were taken down and rebuilt by the Sheffield firm of O'Neill & Son under the direction of Charles M. Hadfield, grandson of the cathedral's original architect. In 1924, the War Memorial Chapel in the "north" transept was opened, commemorating the fallen in World War I. By 1934 the cathedral's spire was found to have strayed from the perpendicular and the civic authorities ordered that some {{convert|60|feet}} be removed. Repairs were not completed until 1938. Restoration and repair of damage sustained in the Second World War was carried out in the immediate post-war years.

Further restoration and re-ordering were carried out in 1971–72 at a cost of £80,000. This included the erection of a new free-standing altar located under the crossing, following the [[Second Vatican Council]]. A further re-ordering of the choir (chancel) took place in 1988, including the removal of the original stone high altar and [[reredos]], installed in 1853–55 to designs by [[George Goldie (architect)|George Goldie]].

A new stained-glass west window was installed in 1994, to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the laying of the cathedral's foundation stone. Its title is ''When I am lifted up I shall draw all to myself'', and it depicts, in somewhat abstract form, the crucified Christ flanked by the Virgin Mary and the cathedral's patron, St. John.

Restoration of the external stonework to the spire and "west" (i.e. south) front took place in the spring of 2007. Further major repairs to the roof and masonry to stop leaks within the church took place in 2018.

In November 2021, it was announced that Salford Cathedral would be closed for the year until 2024 due to a multi-million-pound restoration project. This is set to include reinstalling some of the cathedral's Victorian heritage which was stripped in the 1970s and a new roof being added to the building.<ref>{{cite news |title=Salford Cathedral to close for major 2023 revamp |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-59459287 |access-date=27 February 2022 |work=BBC News |date=29 November 2021 |archive-date=27 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220227232215/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-59459287 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Keeling |first1=Neal |title=Salford Cathedral forced to close for year and a half for £18m repairs |url=https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/salford-cathedral-forced-close-year-22308383 |access-date=27 February 2022 |work=Manchester Evening News |date=29 November 2021 |language=en |archive-date=23 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240323042304/https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/salford-cathedral-forced-close-year-22308383 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Place North West {{!}} Salford Cathedral to close for £18m refresh |url=https://www.placenorthwest.co.uk/news/salford-cathedral-to-close-for-18m-refresh/ |access-date=27 February 2022 |work=Place North West |date=30 November 2021 |archive-date=24 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124014142/https://www.placenorthwest.co.uk/news/salford-cathedral-to-close-for-18m-refresh/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Organ== A new four-manual digital organ was installed by Makin in 2002. While digital organs are still uncommon in cathedrals, the current instrument has a versatile stop list and is an improvement on its predecessor, with speakers located in the [[clerestory]] windows above the nave to help with choir and congregational singing. The current organ replaced a two-manual Jardine pipe organ which was installed in 1951; the console located in the south aisle near the crossing, with the pipe case in the west gallery. The Jardine instrument was a rebuild of a short-lived experimental design by Compton of 1938, involving remote pipework relayed into the cathedral by microphones and loudspeakers,<ref name="Elvin">{{cite book|last=Elvin|first=Laurence|title=Pipes and actions: some organ builders in the Midlands and beyond|year=1995|publisher=L. Elvin|isbn=0-9500049-8-7}}</ref> with some of the Compton pipework re-used in the Jardine instrument. The earliest instrument in Cathedral records was a four-manual instrument by W.E. Richardson sited in the north transept, installed in 1887.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.npor.org.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch.cgi?Fn=Rsearch&rec_index=N04360 |title=Lancashire Salford, Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, Chapel Street [N04360] |publisher=National Pipe Organ Register |date=2003 |access-date=16 May 2017}}</ref>

==Gallery== <gallery mode="packed-hover" heights="160px"> File:The Cathedral Church of St John the Evangelist, Salford - geograph.org.uk - 3027257.jpg|Aerial view: Salford Cathedral File:Cathedral Church of St John the Evangelist, Salford.jpg|Exterior: Salford Cathedral File:Salford Cathedral Entrance on Chapel Street - geograph.org.uk - 3886812.jpg|Exterior: Entrance to the Cathedral File:The Pyramid, St John's Square - geograph.org.uk - 5667830.jpg|Exterior: Pyramid in St John's Square File:Salford Cathedral Memorial Chapel (38253223564).jpg|Interior: Memorial Chapel File:Salford Cathedral.jpg|Interior: Nave of the Cathedral File:Salford Cathedral Memorial Chapel.jpg|Interior: Memorial Chapel File:The Pyramid, St John's Square - geograph.org.uk - 5667824.jpg|Exterior: Pyramid in St John's Square </gallery>

==See also== {{portal|Catholicism|Greater Manchester}} *[[Grade II* listed buildings in Greater Manchester]] *[[Listed buildings in Salford, Greater Manchester]] *[[List of tallest buildings and structures in Salford]]

==References== {{reflist}}

== External links == {{commons category|Salford Cathedral}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20100904040408/http://www.salforddiocese.org.uk/cathedral Salford Diocese pages on Salford Cathedral]

{{Salford B&S}} {{Diocese of Salford}} {{Roman Catholic Cathedrals in the United Kingdom}}

[[Category:Churches completed in 1848]] [[Category:19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom]] [[Category:Roman Catholic cathedrals in England|Salford]] [[Category:Grade II* listed churches in Greater Manchester|Salford]] [[Category:Grade II* listed cathedrals]] [[Category:Roman Catholic church buildings in Greater Manchester]] [[Category:Diocese of Salford]] [[Category:Matthew Ellison Hadfield buildings]] [[Category:Churches in Salford]]