Hall? St Peter?s

Image: © David Dixon Taken: 6 Aug 2018

St Peter’s Church, which was consecrated in 1860, was the first Anglican Church to be built in the predominantly Roman Catholic area of Ancoats. As this was a poor area, there was no pew rent and this influenced the choice of brick rather than (the more expensive) stone as the main building material with the innovative use of cast iron columns to support the arches between the nave and the aisles. The population of Ancoats declined sharply after World War II and the proportion of regular church-goers decreased significantly. In the late 1950s, the congregation was joined by that of the nearby St James’ Church; briefly becoming known colloquially as ‘St Peter’s and Little Jimmies’. The size of the congregation continued to fall becoming unsustainable prior to the church closing in 1960 and being finally abandoned in 1990. The church had been designated as a Grade II Listed Building in 1974 (Historic England List entry Number: 1197806 https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1197806 ) and it has been restored as part of the Ancoats Conservation Area. In 2013, the Hallé raised significant funding to complete the restoration and convert it for use as a home for the Hallé’s rehearsals and recordings, its choirs and Youth Orchestra, as well as a space for education workshops and small performances. From the end of March 2018 to late summer 2019, Hallé St Peter’s will be closed for expansion, creating additional rehearsal spaces as well as a café. It is expected to re-open from Autumn 2019.

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