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A haven of spirituality

St Ann's Church is a shining exception to this rule.

Dating from 1709, the beautiful, pink sandstone church has witnessed all kinds of changes in the lives and times of the Mancunians who walk past it every day.

In a secular age, it still remains a haven of spirituality to many.

When it was first built, Manchester was a small country town, little more than a village, with timber framed houses lining Market Stead Lane (later Market Street) and Deans Gate (sic) up to Long Mill Gate (where Chetham's School still stands today). Around St Ann's, there were once green fields leading down to the rivers Irwell and the Irk. Until the advent of St Ann's, the town possessed only one church, the Collegiate Church, now the Cathedral.

Thousands may see the church every day on their way to work or school, but relatively few bother to actually take a look inside (the church is usually open).

The interior is simple but striking, less over-the-top than those built during the fashion for gothic revival churches, which followed. It reflects the low church sympathies of its founders and has simple galleries with Tuscan-inspired columns. The 19th century stained glass is the work of artist Frederick Shields.

The name of the church refers to the saint, of course, but perhaps equally to the aristocrat who provided the money, Lady Ann Bland. She was the daughter of Sir Edward Mosley, lord of the manor, who lived at Hulme Hall, a country house standing on a red sandstone rock.

In 1708, a petition was addressed to Parliament seeking permission to build a new church, as the population of Manchester was fast increasing, and on May 18, 1709, Lady Bland laid the foundation stone at one end of the large cornfield known as Acres Field, where annually after harvest Mancunians used to hold a three days' fair.

On July 17, 1712, the church was consecrated by the Bishop of Chester, the dedication to St. Ann, the Virgin Mary's mother, being a compliment both to the founder and to the reigning Queen.

Society

It was very much the society church when it was built, and pew rents for the best seats were more than £100 - an astronomical sum in those days.

The poor were left to stand or get a cramped seat in the gallery. By 1720, St Ann's Square had been laid out and planted with trees in imitation of the fashionable squares of London and Bath. In 1729, Sir Oswald Mosley built an Exchange, not far from the site of the present Royal Exchange; by 1735 buildings had begun to rise on the south side of Acres Field, and King Street and Ridgefield came into being.

Out of the 19 city churches which were built in the 18th century, St Ann's is the only survivor. When Manchester Cathedral was badly damaged in the air raids of 1940, St. Ann's became indeed for a short time the "stand-in" Cathedral.

The church tower is regarded as the exact centre of the city of Manchester, and used to provide a platform from where surveyors measured distances to other locations. On the left, near the tower door, is the arrow-like surveyors' mark.

Despite being in the middle of the business quarter of the city, St Ann's has a thriving parish life and hosts events from classical concerts to evenings featuring famous authors, sponsored by nearby Waterstone's.

In 1975 the Friends of St Ann's Church was formed, supported by firms in the parish, to maintain the fabric of this historic building; and 1996 was a big year of change for the church.
There was a complete internal redecoration, followed by major repairs to the church's fabric as a result of the IRA bomb explosion in the city centre, which occurred only a few hundred yards from the building. The church organ was also rebuilt at this time and is reckoned one of the finest in the city.

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