| Holy Trinity Church | |
| Fullname: | The Parish Church of the Holy Trinity, Horwich |
| Location: | Horwich, Greater Manchester |
| Country: | England |
| Coordinates: | 53.5991°N -2.5374°W |
| Denomination: | Church of England |
| Website: | Holy Trinity Church at bhrmp.co.uk |
| Founded Date: | before 1552 |
| Dedication: | Holy Trinity |
| Consecrated Date: | 1831 (present church) |
| Status: | Parish Church |
| Heritage Designation: | Grade II listed building |
| Architect: | Francis Octavius Bedford |
| Style: | Gothic Revival |
| Materials: | Sandstone |
| Parish: | Horwich |
| Deanery: | Deane |
| Diocese: | Manchester |
| Province: | York |
Holy Trinity Church, commonly known as Horwich Parish Church, is a Grade II listed building in Horwich, Greater Manchester, England. It is an active Church of England parish church and part of the Deane deanery in the archdeaconry of Bolton, diocese of Manchester. Holy Trinity Church is now part of the United Benefice of Horwich and Rivington, which includes the other two Anglican churches in Horwich, St Catherine's Church and St Elizabeth's Church, and Rivington Anglican Church.[1]
There have been three chapels or churches on the site of Holy Trinity Church. It is not known when the first chapel was built, but it existed before the English Reformation when it was a chapel of ease to the parish church of St Mary the Virgin's Church, Deane. In 1565, the "commissioners for removing superstitious ornaments" took various items they considered idolatrous from the chapel. The earliest gravestone in the churchyard has the initials and date M.H. 1648, however, the church registers only commenced in 1660. After the Glorious Revolution in 1688, the chapel was used by Nonconformists, but in 1716 the Bishop of Chester recovered the chapel for the established church.
As the town expanded during the Industrial Revolution and the population increased, the old chapel was replaced by a larger building in 1782. Almost fifty years later, the second chapel was replaced by the present church which was designed by Francis Octavius Bedford and consecrated in 1831. It is a Waterloo or Commissioners' Church, partly paid for by money from the parliament of the United Kingdom raised by the Church Building Act 1818, and said to be a celebration of Britain's victory in the Battle of Waterloo. The Commissioners paid £5,621, the remainder was provided by the Ridgway family, owners of Wallsuches Bleach Works. Horwich became a parish on 29 December 1853 and the chapel-of-ease became the parish church.
The chancel, designed by Bolton architect Richard Knill Freeman,[2] was added to the east end of the church in 1903 in memory of the Reverend Henry Septimus Pigot, vicar for 48 years.
The tower holds a ring of eight bells, hung for change ringing. The whole ring was cast by John Taylor & Co of Loughborough in 1913.
The churchyard contains the war graves of 26 service personnel, 22 of World War I and four of World War II.
|
|
|
|
Notes
Bibliography