St Louis, Gorton Monastery Great Nave

Image: © David Dixon Taken: 23 Mar 2015

The Great Nave is the main space at Gorton Monastery. The large, open room features stunning architecture and beautiful partially-restored original features. Amongst the many striking features and artefacts are the twelve canopied statues of saints standing 40 feet up on their pedestals below the clerestory windows. The figures were installed when the monastery was built and spent 133 years looking down on the aisles but were removed in the early 1990s by the developer when the building was to be converted into flats. They were spotted on an auction list at Sotheby’s in 1994 by local historian Janet Wallwork and bought by Manchester council after Gorton MP Gerald Kaufman negotiated their withdrawal from the auction. After a short period on display at Manchester Town Hall, the works had been kept in storage in the city centre but were eventually re-installed at the Monastery in May 2012 after being carefully cleaned, restored and re-gilded. Made of French limestone, each statue is eight foot in height and weighs half a ton. Some of the replacement parts were carved in wood (http://www.themonastery.co.uk/THE-SAINTS-RAISED-UP-ONTO-THEIR-PLINTHS-AT-THE-MONASTERY.html The Monastery, Manchester http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/saints-go-marching-in-twelve-870434 Manchester Evening News). Saint Louis was King of France, patron of prisoners, builders, sculptors, soldiers, hairdressers, and Franciscan Tertiaries.

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