| Church and Friary of St Francis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Catholic (FranciscanRecollects) |
| Ecclesiastical or organizational status | Friary |
| Year consecrated | 1872 |
| Status | Secular events venue |
| Location | |
| Location | Gorton, Manchester, England |
| Municipality | City of Manchester |
  Shown within Greater Manchester | |
| Geographic coordinates | 53°28′5.9″N2°11′15.0″W / 53.468306°N 2.187500°W /53.468306; -2.187500 |
| Architecture | |
| Architect(s) | Edward Welby Pugin |
| Style | High Victorian Gothic architecture |
| Groundbreaking | 1866 |
| Completed | 1872 |
| Construction cost | £8000 |
| Specifications | |
| Direction of façade | South |
| Length | 180 feet (55 m) |
| Height (max) | 230 feet (70 m) |
| Materials | Polychomatic brick, sandstone dressing |
| Website | |
| www | |
TheChurch and Friary of St Francis, known locally asGorton Monastery, is aGrade II* listed formerFranciscanfriary inGorton, Manchester, England. It was designed by the notedVictorian architectEdward Welby Pugin and built 1866–1872. Gorton Monastery is a noted example ofGothic Revival architecture.
The building ceased to be used for Christian worship in 1989 and fell derelict for many years. After a restoration programme, it reopened as a secular events venue in 2007.
In 1861 the thenBishop of Salford,Herbert Vaughan, invited a Belgian community ofRecollects, a branch of theFranciscanOrder of Friars Minor, to come to Manchester and found a new church. The Franciscans arrived in Gorton in December 1861 and began work on a new friary. The construction lasted from 1863 to 1867, and most of the building work was done by the friars themselves, with a brother acting as clerk of works.[1][2][3][4]
The noted architectEdward Welby Pugin (1834–1875) was appointed to design the new monastery church. Pugin was the son of the celebrated architectAugustus Pugin, who championed the revival ofGothic as the style of architecture which was the ideal expression ofCatholic faith and worship in church buildings. Edward Welby Pugin had designed two other large Catholic churches in Manchester,St Ann's, Stretford (1863) andAll Saints' Church, Urmston (1868). The foundation stone for the Gorton Monastery church was laid in 1866 and it was completed and consecrated in 1872.[1][2][3]
The monastery closed for worship in 1989. The building was sold to aproperty developer, who stripped the monastery of its furnishings and fittings, including mahoganypews, oak doors and sculptures. Apipe organ built by Wadsworth Bros of Manchester was sold for scrap. The property developer subsequently wentbankrupt and the scheme to convert the monastery into flats was abandoned. The monastery lay empty and derelict for many years and suffered fromvandalism andlooting.[5][6]
In 1997, Gorton Monastery was placed on theWorld Monuments Fund Watch List of 100 Most Endangered Sites in the World alongsidePompeii, theTaj Mahal and theValley of the Kings.[7]
A campaign was begun to save Gorton Monastery, and a charitable trust, the Monastery of St Francis and Gorton Trust, was set up by Cheshire businesswoman Elaine Griffiths and her husband Paul Griffiths, who had served as an altar boy at the monastery during the 1960s.[8][9] Following bankruptcy of the property developers, the building was in the hands ofreceivers. It was bought by campaigners in 1997 for the sum of £1.[6]
The trustees applied for funding from theHeritage Lottery Fund,English Heritage andEuropean Regional Development Fund to restore the monastery. Their first proposal for an educational and arts centre was rejected as it was considered too uncommercial for Lottery funding. The second scheme, for a hotel and conference and centre, was also turned down as it was too commercial. A new proposal for an events and weddings venue was successful and the requisite funding was secured in 2003.[9] The church and associated friary buildings underwent a £6 million restoration programme which was completed in June 2007.[10][11] A separate trading company, The Monastery Manchester Ltd, was set up to operate the premises on a commercial basis as a venue for conferences, business meetings weddings and community events.[8]
In 2013, the volunteers of the Monastery of St Francis and Gorton Trust were awarded theQueen's Award for Voluntary Service. In November 2013,Queen Elizabeth II andPrince Philip visited the monastery for a private lunch during a visit to the area.[8]
Construction of a new "Welcome Wing" with facilities for education and the community, along with further restoration on the altars, decorations, and floor tiles,[12] started in February 2016,[13] following from a £1 million donation fromNorman Stoller in September 2014, and £2 million from theHeritage Lottery Fund in December 2014.[12] The wing, designed byEco Arc, was built byHH Smith & Sons Ltd on the footprint of a building that was demolished in the 1960s.[13]
In March 2017, a memorial service was held in Gorton Monastery forSir Gerald Kaufman, MP forManchester Gorton and supporter of the monastery restoration project.[14]
In 2021, theManchester Cameratachamber orchestra established Gorton Monastery as its new home.[15]
Edward Welby Pugin's monastery church is a tall and imposingpolychromatic red and blue brick building inspired by thelate 13-century Gothic style with sandstonedressing.
Unlike the traditionalliturgical east and west alignment, the monastery church sits on a north–south alignment. At the north end is a polygonalapse. The south front facing the main street is elaborately decorated with Gothic features with strong vertical emphasis. Three oversized, full-heightflying buttresses are surmounted by canopied statues and a large central sculpted crucifix. The pinnacle of the south front is an ornatebellcote topped with a smallspire. Between the buttresses are two high lancet windows with elaborate stonetracery, flanked byrose windows. At ground level is anarthex with fourGothic arches, leading to two central arched doorways.[16][1]
To the east of the church is acloister and the monastery building, a plain, three-storey brick building with sashed windows, chimneys and a bellcote.[16][nb 1]
In 1963, Gorton Monastery was designated aGrade II* listed building.
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The interior is dominated by the 13-baynave with east and westaisles and lined by buttresses, with each bay pierced bylancet windows. At the north end, thechancel is lit by largedormer windows high in the roof which focus sunlight on thehigh altar. Behind the altar is a tallreredos designed by the architect's half-brother,Peter Paul Pugin. Thestained glass windows were designed byRalph Bolton Edmundson.[1]
Placed on 40-foot (12 m)-high plinths in between the nave bays is a series of 12 life-size Frenchlimestone statues of Franciscan saints. After the church fell derelict in the 1980s, many of the internal fixtures and furnishings were removed by property developers, including the statues known as theSaints.. A local historian spotted them in aSotheby's catalogue in 1994 listed as "garden ornaments", and the statues were purchased byManchester City Council. After they had been held in storage for 16 years they were restored over a period of eight months and finally hoisted back to their original positions in 2012.[1][17][18][19]
The saints depicted are:[18]
