Chester Diocese
News Item
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Celebrating a ‘great beauty’ in Stockport
ONE of Stockport’s most beautiful buildings, St Thomas’ Church, will this month celebrate 180 years since its consecration. With classical clean-cut lines and Greek and Roman styling, the church in Holt Street, Stockport, is Grade A listed. It is sometimes referred to as a ‘Waterloo church’ since it benefited from the large sum of cash for church building granted by Parliament in 1818 – as a thanksgiving to God for the nation’s deliverance from the threat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo, it has been suggested. The site for St Thomas’ Church was given by Lady Warren-Bulkeley, Lady of the Manor of Stockport. It was consecrated by the Bishop of Chester, the Rt Revd Charles James Blofield on 26 September 1825. Though very grand in scale, St Thomas’ was originally a daughter church of St Mary’s. St Thomas’ ministerial leadership was by ‘Perpetual Curates’ until 1875 when it was granted far-reaching parish boundaries of its own and its presiding ‘Perpetual Curate’, the Revd Joseph Taylor, became a fully-ledged Rector. St Thomas’s interior has been altered over the years but it remains very beautiful and is dominated by classical columns and a large image of the Transfiguration of Jesus above the altar. Celebrations for the anniversary of this landmark church take place on Saturday 24 September with a coffee morning with stalls inside the church starting at 10am. At 7.30 that evening there will be a performance by the Stockport Male Voice Choir. The current Rector, the Revd Ken Kenrick, who has been resting after illness, will take part in the celebrations. On Sunday 25 September at 6.30pm there will be a celebratory Songs of Praise. On Monday 26 September at 7.30pm there will be a Dedication Festival Eucharist celebrated by the Bishop of Stockport, the Rt Revd Nigel Stock, who will also preach. Bishop Nigel said: “As churches go, this is a great beauty, and its mission to local people is as important as ever.”
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The interior of St Thomas’ Church
The Revd Joseph Taylor, Rector 1844-1876
The Rt Revd Nigel Stock
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