St Clement’s Church Ashton Old Road Higher Openshaw

• Sculpture : Earp and Hobbs
• Foundation : Stone laying - November 1879
• Consecration : 23 March 1881

HIGHER OPENSHAW. -On Saturday afternoon the foundation stone of St. Clement's Church, Higher Openshaw, was laid. The plan of the church is oblong; the only projections will be the chancel and two porches. The style is that of the Geometrical Period of English Gothic. The aisles are lighted by sixteen side windows and two at the west end. Quasi‑transepts are formed by gabling the two easternmost bays of aisles, and a large three‑ light window is placed high in each gable. East of the transepts are situated on the north, the clergy vestry etc, and on the south the organ chamber. Between the organ and vestry is a lofty chancel, 22 feet in width. Eastwardly the chancel ends in an octagonal apse, the three bays of which contain each a two‑light window with traceried heads. Internally the dimensions of the church are as follows:CExtreme length, 117 feet by a width of so feet ; the nave from floor to ridge will be nearly .50 feet ; and the chancel 40 feet The walls internally will be plastered between stonework, and open‑timbered roofs have been adopted. Durnford parpoints will be used throughout the exterior, with Yorkshire dressings to all windows and angles. Accommodation will be provided for 664 adult worshippers. The contractors for the superstructure are Messrs. Wilson, Toft and Huntley, Messrs Cordingly and Stopford doing the masons' work. The whole of the works is executed from designs prepared by Messrs. Enticknap and Walter K. Booth, architects and surveyors, of Kennedy‑street, Manchester. The estimated cost of the works under the present contract, exclusive of the tower, is about £5,300. [Building News 21 November 1879 p629]

Reference    British Architect 21 November 1879 Page 298
Reference    Building News 21 November 1879 p629 – foundation stone
Reference    British Architect 10 December 1880 Page 250 and 24 December 1880 Page 272 with illustrations - Detailed drawings of Font and Vestry Fireplace etc
Reference    Manchester Guardian 10 February 1881 page 6
Reference    Manchester Guardian 24 March 1881 page 6 - consecration
Reference    Building News 1 April 1881 Page 373