St Mary Immaculate Conception, Failsworth
St Mary Immaculate Conception, Failsworth
The Church of St Mary the Immaculate Conception on Clive Road, Failsworth, is a Grade II Roman Catholic church of 1963–67 by Tadeusz Lesisz of Greenhalgh & Williams. It is now in the Parish of the Nativity in the Diocese of Salford.
- Location
- Failsworth, Lancashire
- Country
- England
- County
- Lancashire
- City / town
- Failsworth
- Address
- Clive Road, Failsworth, Lancashire, M35 0NN
- Postcode
- M35 0NN
- Built
- 1963–67
- Consecrated
- 8 December 1973
- Architect
- Tadeusz Lesisz of Greenhalgh and Williams
- Denomination
- Catholic Church
- Dedication
- Mary
- Diocese
- Salford
- Parish
- Parish of the Nativity
- Grade
- II
- Style
- Modern basilican
- Materials
- Light brown brick, Westmorland green slate roof, reinforced concrete and cast stone
- Opening hours
- Sorry, there are no regular opening times for this church.
- Access
- Accessible toilets in church. Level access throughout
Overview
Historic England lists a modern basilican church in light brown brick with a Westmorland green slate roof, reinforced concrete and cast stone. The Oblates of Mary Immaculate founded a mission in 1846; a first church, begun in 1855 and opened unfinished in 1865, was damaged in the 1868 Murphy riots, closed in 1959 after subsidence, and demolished in 1964. The congregation used a converted cinema while the new church was built on a different site. The foundation stone was laid on 3 August 1963; contractors were W. Fearnley & Sons of Salford. Lesisz, a Polish-born architect and wartime naval officer, combined Gothic, classical and modern motifs. Features include a ribbed spire, a suspended aluminium statue of the Virgin by E. J. Blackwell, and a floor-to-ceiling sanctuary mosaic, with stained glass designed with Charles Lightfoot.
Furnishings from the Victorian church were reused. A later reordering brought the altar forward. The church was listed in 2017. The Catholic Directory records consecration on 8 December 1973. In 2019 the parish amalgamated with Holy Family, Hollinwood, as the Parish of the Nativity.