St. Mary in the Baum

A short history

The Introduction

 

The aim of this booklet is three-fold; firstly, to familiarise our readers with the history of this unique building, secondly, a thank offering for those present worshippers who have so faithfully held fast to the belief that this building is worth restoring, and so believing have raised substantial monies over recent years in order to complete phase one of its restoration and thirdly to enlighten those who, though not having had the delight to worship within its hallowed walls, may feel moved to support the work of restoration by their financial contributions, their prayers, and by merely spreading the word that in this town of Rochdale there is this 'Hidden Gem'.

 

We are indebted to past Vicars, the Revd A.R. Langford Brown for his booklet, "A Short History of St. Mary's Parish, Rochdale", published 1914, and to the Revd. Canon William Rowe for his publication, "The Parish of St. Mary, Rochdale", published 1950.

 

The Parish

 

Built as a chapel-of-ease to St.Chad's Rochdale in 1742 it was consecrated by the Bishop of Chester, (Rochdale then being in that Diocese). The original church remained in use until 1909, when it was decided that owing to the excessive cost of repairs (estimated at £8000) the building of a new church would be more economical. This was completed at a cost of £15,000 and consecrated on February 2nd 1911 by the then Bishop of Manchester, the Diocese of Manchester having by this time been founded.

 

The Present Church

 

The Architect appointed for the new church was Ninian Comper, an architect of some considerable reputation who was later knighted for his contribution to church architecture. Both in general design and in the detail of its construction there is marked evidence of Comper's skill and genius.

 

The arrangement of the church is unusual in that there is a main aisle, choir and sanctuary on the south side, and a centre aisle and the Jesus Chapel on the north side. The exterior of the church is constructed of narrow, hand-made, 'Tuckers' Bricks', except for the balustrade and mullions which are of Alderley Stone. Tuckers' Bricks were chosen in order to combat the atmosphere of our industrial town, a decision that has since been justified, as today the brickwork still retains its warm reddish tint and the stone is quite black. Red- tinted  Alderley  stone was used for the  interior of the church and as this was used for the original building it afforded Comper the means of incorporating items of significant architectural beauty from the original building. The pillars dividing the Jesus Chapel from the centre aisle are from the original church, as are the roundel windows in the Chapel itself. 

 

The Altar is an Early English Altar with Riddel Posts and Hangings, the posts being surmounted by gilded angels, and the  'Squint' which is placed in the north wall of the sanctuary was typical of Early English Churches and was designed so that the sick would have been able to see the priest celebrating the Eucharist, and from its shelf would have  received their Communion. Other Early English details are seen in the Aumbry, used for the reservation of the Blessed Sacrament, in the north wall of the sanctuary, and in the Piscina, used for the cleansing of the vessels used at the Eucharist, in the stonework of the pillar near the Altar. One can also be seen by the Jesus Chapel altar.

 

The East Window

 

This is one of the glories of the church and was designed by Comper himself, who also supervised its manufacture and fixture. The window is 30 feet high and 18 feet across. The lower lights cover six feet of its height; the six main lights 14 feet, and the upper tracery six feet. Perhaps the most remarkable feature of the window is that it represents Our Lord as the Pre-Incarnate Word; the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. ("In the beginning was the Word");

 

The Artist has attempted to portray the whole history of God's revelation of Himself to Man from the Creation to the Ascension. In the north (left) pair of the central main lights the subject is the Creation and the Fall of Man. Life is given to Man and rejected by him in the Garden of Eden. The two main central lights represent the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and tell how life is restored to man through the Incarnation. In the southern (right) pair of central lights the subject is The New Life Accepted. For this purpose the artist uses the confession of faith in our Lord's Resurrection by St.Thomas.

 

In the six lower lights the subjects are incidents in the earthly life of our Lord: the Visitation; the Birth of Our Lord; the Adoration of the Magi; the Presentation of Christ in the Temple; the Flight into Egypt; the Child Jesus in the Temple. In the tracery above the main lights are the symbols of the Passion. Reading from left to right they are: The Money Bag and the Thirty Pieces of Silver; the Lantern; the Pillar and the Scourge; the Crown of Thorns; the Nails; the hammer and pincers; the Burial Robe; the Ladder; the Spear and Sponge. Above the tracery are the Prophets who foretold Our Lord's Incarnation: David, Zachariah, Isaiah, Haggai, Micah, and Malachi. Crowning this wealth of colour and symbolism is the representation of the crowned and seated Blessed Virgin Mary and the Holy Child with attendant angels. The Latin inscription reads:- "To the honour of God and in loving memory of a greatly loved father and mother, their daughter gave this window, in the year of Our Lord 1910. It is believed that this is another of Miss Crompton's gifts to the church.

 

The Rood Screen

 

The screen is perhaps the most striking feature of the Church, and is certainly the finest in the Diocese. It was designed by Comper and dedicated in 1924. It cost over £3000 and was paid for by the money left by Miss Crompton, except for the three main figures, which form the Calvary (these were given later in her memory by her friends and a brass plaque beneath the Screen depicts this gift). The figures on the lower part of the screen represent the Apostles each one bearing a symbol of either his martyrdom or ministry. Those whose writings are included in the New Testament also carry a book. St. Matthias, who was elected to replace Judas, is not represented for little is known of him, and in ecclesiastical art he is seldom included in the sets of the Apostles. On the other hand St. Paul, who was not one of the original twelve, is given a place beside St. Peter.

 

Facing east and reading from left to right the figures represented are: St. Simon with a saw; St. Jude with a lance and a book; St. Matthew with a halberd or axe and book; St. Bartholomew with a flaying knife; St. Phillip with a pastoral staff surmounted by a cross; St. James the Less with a club and a book; St. Andrew with a cross; St. Peter with the keys and a book; St. Paul with a sword and a book; St. James with a pilgrims staff; St. Thomas with a builders set square. There are thus only eleven figures instead of twelve, but by placing the figure of St. John with the Calvary, the number is completed.

 

Immediately above the Apostles is the main group of the screen, the Crucified Saviour, with the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. John. On either side is an angel reminiscent of the Wheeling Angels referred to in Ezekiel 1:16. The Latin inscription is taken form St. John's Gospel, "God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life". Above the Calvary is a representation of the Ascended and glorified Saviour seated on a throne and surrounded by angels. The Latin inscription beneath is a quotation from the Te Deum: "We believe that Thou shalt come to be our Judge; we therefore pray Thee help Thy servants whom thou hast redeemed by Thy precious blood".

 

 

The West Window

 

This was given by parishioners to commemorate the seventy-three men of the congregation who died in the Great War. It consists of a roundel in which is represented St. George slaying the dragon.  Around this are grouped shields bearing the Arms of the five principal allied nations- England, France, Italy, Greece, and America.

 

 

The Organ

 

Mr Fletcher Bolton gave this very fine instrument in memory of his father and mother, John and Alice Bolton. It was dedicated on July 4th 1930. The instrument was built by Messrs. Fitton and Haley of Leeds at a cost of £1750. It is a three manual tubular organ pneumatically operated, and is reputed to be one of the best organs in Rochdale. The organ case was designed by Sir Ninian Comper.

 

The Pulpit

 

This was originally in the old church and is over 200 years old. It was fixed on a new base and the sounding board added. The inscription reads: "Christum crucifixum Praedicamus  ("We preach Christ crucified"). It is reputed that Charles Wesley once preached from this pulpit!

 

The Font

 

Again this was part of the old church and dates from 1866. On the sides are the carvings in the stone: these are the Sacrificial Lamb; the Dove, representing the Holy Spirit; the Ark, representing the Church, and the Three Fishes, representing the Holy Trinity.

 

The Jesus Chapel

 

SINCE the whole Church is dedicated to our Lady, it cannot have a Lady Chapel. This therefore is known as the JESUS CHAPEL.  

 

THE ALTAR is the former High altar removed from the old St.Mary's Church.

 

THE PAINTING above the Altar is a copy of the 'Holy Family' by the Spanish artist, Murillo (1617-1682), the original picture being in the National Gallery. It was given in memory of The Revd I. H. Bland, whose was Vicar from 1919 to 1925 [this became damaged with water recently and is awaiting possible restoration]

 

THE NORTH AISLE, of which this Chapel is a part, contains the unusual 'Jesus Windows'. which were taken from the former Church. There are five sets, each consisting of three roundels set in 'bottled glass'. They give a connected representation of the life of Christ, and are best studied in sequence, beginning at the Altar rails.

 

Reading from east to west the gospel story is as follows:

 

1  The Annuciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, with two small figures representing probably        St. Matthew and St. Luke writing their accounts of the visit of the angel.

2   The Visitation of Elizabeth; the birth of Our Lord; the visit of the Three Wise Men.

3   The Flight into Egypt; Jesus in the Carpenter's Shop; the Child Jesus in the Temple with the doctors of the Law.

4   The Marriage in Cana of Galilee; The Entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday; The Way to the Cross.

5   The Crucifixion; the Descent from the Cross; the Entombment.

6   The Disciples on the way to Emmaus; Easter Day; the Ascension; the Feast of Pentecost

7   The Crucifixion, with two small pictures representing the Pelican feeding its young with its own life blood; the Sacrificial Lamb.