It had a rich musical history. A famous composer was a choirboy there and some of its congregation sang in an episode of Coronation Street in the 1960s.
But Oldham council's demolition of the Victorian St John's Church, in Werneth, has hit a sour note with heritage groups. Town hall bosses opted for tearing down the building, founded in 1844 and consecrated in October 1845, as they fear it could attract vandals and "blight" the area.
But the council's reasoning has been condemned as a "dangerous precedent" and a "wasteful" act by the National Churches Trust and Victorian Society respectively.
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An aerial picture taken in 1947 shows how the church was at the centre of a community, then dominated by Werneth Mill and hundreds of terraced homes. The mill and the homes have gone, though, and after surviving longest, the church has too.
The Manchester Evening News reported last month that the former church, which has been closed since the 1980s, was set to be demolished. The local authority appointed a contractor, D. Hughes Demolition, to knock down St John's, in St John Street. Now the building has been bulldozed.
But Rachel Adams, communications manager for the National Churches Trust, said: “Sadly, there are 900 churches on the Heritage At Risk Register, and the Church of England is facing a £1 billion repair bill for its buildings over the next five years. Many parishes face severe challenges in keeping their buildings open and safe to use.
“We are deeply disappointed that the demolition of St John's in Werneth has gone ahead. It feels like a dangerous precedent that an unlisted heritage building can be demolished because of unbased fears that it could be the target of vandalism in the future. The building could have been restored and used for other purposes and to benefit the wider community.
“Preserving historic buildings – such as St John’s – is important for safeguarding our heritage, so that generations of people can enjoy them for years to come."
Last year, the National Churches Trust made over 255 grant awards to churches throughout the UK with funding totalling more than £1.95m. In 2023, grants continue to be available to churches of any Christian denomination that are open for regular worship to fund urgent repairs, maintenance, installing loos or kitchens and feasibility studies to develop projects.
Veteran broadcaster and journalist, Huw Edwards, Vice President of the Trust, said: "With many churches facing a struggle to survive, the latest grants are a tremendous boost to congregations, heritage lovers and to many communities in the UK who increasingly rely on the support provided by churches.
"The grants help fund urgent repairs and installing modern facilities including loos and kitchens. This safeguards important local heritage and keep churches open and in use for the benefit of local people. The National Churches Trust helps hundreds of historic churches each year and with the support of local people keeps them thriving today, and tomorrow.”
The Victorian Society criticised the “wasteful” decision to bulldoze the building and said that the font and stained glass had been lost forever.
James Hughes, a senior conservation adviser at the society, said: “This is a local council that has made a decision that sets a bad example for others — demolishing an unlisted heritage building rather than reusing it sensitively. Oldham’s historic environment has been forever and irreversibly diminished.”
He added: “The needless destruction of buildings that possess clear historic and architectural interest is harmful to the built environment and is just so wasteful. Demolition is known to be a major contributor to the climate crisis and the loss of a locally significant building, which could have been readily adapted and reused, is to be regretted.”
St John’s Church was not listed, so it could be demolished without planning permission under permitted development rules. Designed by Edwin Hugh Shellard, it cost £3,026 to build, and closed in 1982.
The church had previously had a strong musical history, with one choirmaster being Charles Walton, father of the composer Sir William Walton, who sang in the church choir age six in around 1908. From 1955 to 1965 the choirmaster was Herbert Winterbottom who was also head of music at Salford University, and in 1963 the church choir sang on television in an episode of Coronation Street.
Oldham council’s decision notice over the details demolition tender is also restricted due to financial sensitivity, so the cost of the contract is not yet known
However in its consideration of alternative options, officers say that not appointing a contractor to knock down the church would leave it responsible for the ‘potential increasing holding costs associated with a derelict/structurally unsafe property’.
“An empty building could also attract anti-social behaviour and increase the risk of vandalism and in doing so cause the building to become an eyesore blighting the local area,” officers add.
A number of former churches in Oldham have been demolished in recent years, with recent applications coming forward for St Anne’s Church in Greenaces, St Mary’s Church and Presbytery on Ruth Street and Sacred Heart RC Church on Whetstone Hill Road.
A spokesperson for Oldham Council, said: “After consent from church commissioners to amend a restrictive covenant, the decision was made to demolish the building as it was falling into disrepair, unsafe and presented an increased risk of anti-social behaviour. The Council is currently exploring options for the future of the site.”
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