St Mary, Manchester
St Mary, Manchester
St Mary’s, known as the Hidden Gem, is a Grade II* Roman Catholic church on Mulberry Street, Manchester, in the Diocese of Salford: a Rhenish Romanesque church of 1844–48 by Weightman and Hadfield.
- Location
- Manchester, Greater Manchester
- Country
- England
- County
- Greater Manchester
- City / town
- Manchester
- Address
- Mulberry Street, Manchester, Greater Manchester, M2 6LN
- Postcode
- M2 6LN
- Built
- 1844–48, replacing a chapel of 1794
- Consecrated
- 19 October 1848
- Architect
- Weightman and Hadfield
- Denomination
- Catholic Church
- Dedication
- Mary
- Diocese
- Salford
- Parish
- St Mary, Manchester
- Grade
- II*
- Style
- Rhenish Romanesque
- Materials
- Red brick with sandstone dressings; slate roof
- Opening hours
- The church is open daily from 8am to 6pm.
- Access
- Accessible toilets nearby. Level access to the main areas
Overview
Historic England lists the Roman Catholic Church of St Mary (The Hidden Gem), built 1844–48 by the Sheffield practice of Weightman and Hadfield in an unusual Rhenish Romanesque style. The church is red brick with sandstone dressings and a slate roof, oriented north–south on a confined urban site. The basilican plan has a seven-bay nave and sanctuary with aisles, side chapels, a square helm tower at the west end of the south aisle, and an octagonal lantern over the nave. Interior arcades are tall, with Byzantine or Romanesque capitals, lit by clerestory windows and the lantern.
A Catholic chapel opened here on 30 November 1794. After the roof failed in 1835 the chapel was replaced; the present church was dedicated on 19 October 1848. A major embellishment in the 1870s added marble and Caen stone reredoses, a raised timber oratory, and a doorway and font brought from Germany by Bishop Vaughan, from which the name ‘Hidden Gem’ dates. A. W. N. Pugin denounced the Continental style in a pamphlet. The church is open daily from 8am to 6pm, with level access to the main areas.