Hale Congregational Church
Location/Address
Cecil Road, Hale
Type
Description
A building committee to build a new Congregational church in Hale first met on 31 May 1897 and subsequently issued a statement as follows: "The rapid growth of the residential district lying between the Hale Road and the Ashley Road, Altrincham, and the great increase of the population during the last few years have obliged the officers and other members and friends of the Bowdon Downs Congregational Church to consider the question of providing for formation of a New Church there. ...An eligible plot of ground has been secured on the right-hand side of Ashley Road, near to Park Road. It is proposed to erect at once a School-Church; leaving ample space in front for the main building which is to follow."
The School-Church, consisted of a large hall, with four classrooms, which could be made part of the auditorium if needed together with an Infants' room which could also serve as a Church Parlour. The total cost was £3,700, of which £780 was for purchase of the Chief Rent of the land to avoid an annual cost. The foundation stone of the new School Chapel was laid on 21 May 1898 and the building opened on 4 May 1899.
The building 'forms part of a larger scheme, which includes the erection of a more important church, the site occupying a prominent position in Ashley Road. The school church will have accommodation for about 350 sittings. A large lecture room is provided, with vestry and service room, etc. The work has been carried out by Messrs William Lambert and Son, of Bowdon, from the designs of Messrs William Waddington and Son, of Manchester' (Manchester Guardian 5 May 1899).
In 1909 an extensions committee was formed and immediately set about building an annex to the School-Church to be called the New Schools, putting the building of a new church in abeyance. The school annex opened in April 1911. As the local paper reported: "The work for the present is, therefore, limited to the building of an annexe to the school chapel which will contain three departments, each with accommodation for from eighty to one hundred children. The primary department on the ground floor will be used by the very youngest children. Others whose years are more will be taught in the junior department. while still older children will be housed in the intermediate department. Each school has its own means of access with separate class rooms, and the work of each will be entirely independent. No structural change would be made in the school chapel, but the additions to be made will make it available for large meetings and for the purposes of the senior Sunday school and institute and various forms of social work which may be determined upon in the future."
'Mr. Arthur Haworth, MP laid the foundation-stone of new Sunday school buildings at the Ashley Road Congregational Church, Hale, on Saturday afternoon. The schools are to be an annexe of the building which hitherto has served the double purpose of school and chapel. The Congregationalists of Hale established themselves at Ashley Road in 1899. The population of the district was then only 3,000. To-day it is 9,000, and it continues to increase steadily. Growth of population has meant a growth of the church's activities. and a scheme is already. afoot for the building of a spacious church capable of accommodating a large congregation. For the present, however, only a portion of the scheme—that involving the erection of a Sunday school—has been taken in hand. The school is to be divided into three departments, each to receive from 80 to 100 children' (Manchester Guardian 17 October 1910).
The building was repurposed for residential use in 2019-20.
Statement of Significance
Age
1897-99Architectural and Artistic Interest
The church was designed by William Waddington & Son.Group Value
The former chapel has an important group value with the later church on Ashley Road and St Peter's Assembly Rooms on the opposite side of Cecil Road.Images and Documents
Date Listed
24 Jul 2023
Last Updated
23 Dec 2021
Find Out More
Find out more about this Asset in Greater Manchester Local Heritage List:
https://local-heritage-list.org.uk/greater-manchester/asset/7871
https://local-heritage-list.org.uk/greater-manchester/asset/7871