IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Holdness Road, MANCHESTER, M18 8DN

Public Park off Belle Vue Street looking from near Queensland Street.

Home of the Manchester City Chapel, an Assemblies of God congregation on Crossley Street.

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.

Public Park off Belle Vue Street looking towards Queensland Street.

The ‘Spirit of Love’ Sculpture in memory of Ilir Caka and dedicated to Mother Teresa was unveiled outside Gorton Monastery in August 2007.

Used now as an Events Centre. It is currently only open for general viewing on most Sundays from 12 to 4pm.

Large red-brick building in 13th century Gothic style with a steeply-pitched slate roof. The thirteen-bay nave makes a very tall, narrow building of simple regularity. By contrast, the gabled south front with three flying buttresses to the full height of the nave is an elaborate demonstration of Gothic features and decoration with a strong vertical emphasis.

In the land next to the car park at Gorton Monastery land is being prepared for the building of new houses. A digger is driving up and down on top of a mountain of what looks like sand. Update July 2013: Image