{{Short description|Listed building in Greater Manchester, England}} {{Use British English|date=March 2026}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2026}} {{Infobox building | name = Waterpark Hall | image = | caption = | pushpin_map = Greater Manchester | location = Montpellier Mews,<br />[[Broughton, Salford|Broughton Park]],<br />[[Greater Manchester]], England | coordinates = {{coord|53.5156|-2.2549|type:landmark_region:GB|display=inline,title}} | architect = [[Samuel Daukes|S. W. Daukes]] | architectural_style = [[Decorated Gothic]] | years_built = 1872–74 | building_type = [[Congregational church]] (1874–1972)<br />[[United Reformed Church]] (1972–{{circa|1980}})<br />Vacant (c. 1980–2003)<br />Residential (2003–present) | embedded = {{Designation list | embed = yes | designation1 = Grade II* Listed Building | designation1_offname = Waterpark Hall (former Congregational church, latterly United Reformed Church) | designation1_date = 18 January 1980 | designation1_number = {{NHLE|num=1386187|short=y|postscript=none}} }} }}
'''Waterpark Hall''' is a [[Grade II* listed]] building on Montpellier Mews in [[Broughton, Salford|Broughton Park]], an area within [[Salford]], Greater Manchester, England. Designed by [[Samuel Daukes|S. W. Daukes]] and constructed between 1872 and 1874 as a [[Congregational church]], later used by the [[United Reformed Church]], it closed in 1980 and remained vacant for over two decades before being converted to residential use in 2003.
==History== The church was built to serve the growing [[Congregationalism#United Kingdom|Congregational]] community in [[Broughton, Salford|Broughton Park]] during the late 19th century.<ref name="NHLE">{{NHLE|num=1386187|desc=Waterpark Hall (former Congregational church, latterly United Reformed Church)|grade=II*|access-date=30 December 2025}}</ref> Designed by [[Samuel Daukes|S. W. Daukes]], it was constructed between 1872 and 1874 by the contractors Southern & Son of [[Salford]].<ref name="Waterpark">{{cite web |title=Waterpark Hall (former Congregational church, latterly United Reformed Church) |url=https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/101386187-waterpark-hall-former-congregational-church-latterly-united-reformed-church-kersal-ward |website=British Listed Buildings |access-date=30 December 2025}}</ref> Although built for a [[Nonconformist (Protestantism)|Nonconformist]] congregation, the building was noted at the time for its strong resemblance to contemporary [[Anglican]] [[Gothic Revival architecture|Gothic Revival]] churches.<ref name="Victorian">{{cite web |title=Congregational Church Upper Park Road Broughton Park Salford |url=https://manchestervictorianarchitects.org.uk/buildings/congregational-church-upper-park-road-broughton-park-salford |website=Architects of Greater Manchester 1800–1940 |publisher=The Manchester Group of the Victorian Society |access-date=30 December 2025}}</ref>
In 1972 the [[Congregational Union of England and Wales|Congregational]] and [[English Presbyterianism#United Reformed Church|Presbyterian]] churches combined to form the Broughton Park [[United Reformed Church]], and the building continued in use as a place of worship.<ref name="Victorian" />
On 18 January 1980, Waterpark Hall was designated a [[Grade II* listed]] building.<ref name="NHLE" />
Declining congregations led to the church's closure around 1980. A local resident purchased the building to prevent possible demolition, but attempts to secure an alternative use acceptable to [[Salford City Council]] were initially unsuccessful.<ref name="Victorian" /> The empty church was included on the ''[[Heritage at Risk Register]]'' for many years, during which its condition deteriorated through weathering and vandalism.<ref name="Victorian" /> In 1999 a proposal to restore the building and convert the site for residential use finally gained approval. Completed in 2003, the scheme added nine houses within the grounds, arranged in the manner of a traditional close, while the church itself was converted into flats with the [[nave]] forming a communal space.<ref name="Victorian" />
==Architecture== The building is constructed of coursed and squared rubble with a [[Welsh slate]] roof laid in scalloped bands and finished with ridge cresting. It is designed in the [[Decorated Gothic]] style and follows a conventional plan comprising a nave, aisles, [[transept]]s, a northern vestry and office range, and a southeast tower and spire.<ref name="Waterpark" /> The three‑stage tower has foiled windows, paired bell‑chamber lights with clustered shafts, angle [[buttress]]es with gablets, heavy pinnacles to the flying buttresses, and a spire with [[lucarne]]s rising to nearly {{convert|200|ft}}.<ref name="Victorian" /> The west doorway incorporates polished granite shafts and ball‑flower ornament to the moulded arch beneath a steep [[hood mould]], with paired lights above.<ref name="Waterpark" />
The south side of the nave contains a five‑light [[rose window]], while the west aisle has paired [[Lancet window|lancets]] above a [[trefoil]]ed arched doorway; the aisles each have three three‑light windows. The transepts are marked by angle buttresses and a four‑light foiled window.<ref name="NHLE" /> To the north is a triple‑gabled range with blind [[Arcade (architecture)|arcading]] on shafts with foliate [[Capital (architecture)|capitals]], inset lancets, and a ball‑flower cornice; the east wall has three lancet windows, the central north gable a five‑light rose window, and the right‑hand gable a three‑light rose window. The left-hand gable includes a [[Cant (architecture)|canted]] apsidal stair‑turret, with a two‑tier raking stone roof and cusped hood moulds to the lancet openings.<ref name="NHLE" />
==See also== *[[Grade II* listed buildings in Greater Manchester]] *[[Listed buildings in Salford]]
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Salford B&S}}
[[Category:1874 establishments in England]] [[Category:Buildings and structures in Salford]] [[Category:Former churches in Greater Manchester]] [[Category:Grade II* listed buildings in Greater Manchester]] [[Category:Religious buildings and structures completed in 1874]]