St Peter, Middleton, Roman Catholic

The church does not have a graveyard.

It was founded in 1867.

The seeds of Catholic Faith came to life again in about the year 1863. The few Catholics at that time had to attend Mass at Mount Carmel, Blackley, a distance of about three miles. In order to keep the Catholic Faith alight, a cottage on Oldham Road in the vicinity of Park Street was used for a Sunday School at which the catechism was taught. A fervent Catholic layman, by name, Mr. Newton, said to be the father of the late Dean Newton, came on foot each Sunday from Blackley to give the instructions. Father Pierce Griffiths seems to have been the first resident priest in Middleton, taking up residence in 1864. The first place where a Mass centre was established was in a house in Old Hall Street, next to the present ironmonger's shop. Father Griffiths left in September 1866.

Father Goetgeluck succeeded in 1866. He moved the Mass centre from Old Hall Street to a cottage in Spring Vale and here the first mission was conducted by the Rev. Fr. Bertrand Schultz, O.S.B., after which eight persons were baptised. It appears that Father Goetgeluck worked the Middleton parish from Blackley and eventually the separate parish of St. Peter's, Middleton, was opened on December 8th, 1867. He remained as Rector till 1881, during which period he built a presbytery, a small church, a school and a teacher's house.

Canon Wigman succeeded in 1881. In 1894 the school was condemned by the Government. He decided to erect a new school and use the existing school for infants. The parish buildings were now almost complete except for the building of a more spacious church. The parish was deserving of a better site in the district. The Catholic population at this time was about 1,000.

Canon Wigman celebrated his Silver Jubilee in 1903, and was presented with a silver chalice, heavily gilded, manufactured at Utrecht, Holland. This chalice is in present use in the church.

In 1904 trade was so bad in Middleton that Canon Wigman decided that an outdoor collection was useless and impossible. In 1912 the present existing church was erected by Canon Wigman, a solid building, the interior lined with glazed bricks and therefore has saved the parish considerable sums of money, as it does not need any interior decoration.

The parish suffered a blow in the sudden death of their parish priest on July 31st, 1917, as he was preparing to say Mass. Fr. Joseph Hanrahan succeeded as parish priest on October 3rd, 1917. In 1922 a magnificent gilded Monstrance was presented to the parish by Mr. Edward Jump; it was used for the first time on New Year's Day. In 1925, a new marble altar, a stained glass window, and marble altar rails were erected at a cost of £1,229.

In the July of 1927, a disastrous flood, due to heavy rain and the bursting of the canal, took place in the evening at 7 p.m. The low-lying districts of Middleton were flooded to a depth of 10 feet- 250 families were rendered homeless, including a large number of Catholics. Three persons were drowned.

The new Senior School, the first of its kind in the diocese, was opened by Bishop Henshaw on Saturday, September 25th, 1937. In 1938 Father Hanrahan celebrated the Golden Jubilee of his priesthood and also his 21st anniversary as parish priest. He was presented with a gold chalice. Father Hanrahan resigned his post as parish priest on November 19th, 1941, having served the parish for 25 years.

Father Fairclough succeeded Father Hanrahan in 1941. In 1942, improvements were made to the church and presbytery. A new organ, the first of its kind, was erected to take the place of an old harmonium, which had served the parish since it was erected.

Canon Vereker as executor of Father Hanrahan's will, presented the parish with the chalice Fr. Hanrahan received at his Jubilee. In December 1945, the parochial debt was discharged.

Taken from "Salford Diocese and its Catholic past", a survey by Charles A. Bolton, a Priest of the above Diocese. Published 1950 on the First Centenary for the Diocese of Salford.

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