St Saviour's Church A history of worship in Ringley since 1625

Origins

The story of St Saviour's begins in 1625, when Nathan Walworth — born at Ringley Fold in 1572 and Steward to the Earl of Pembroke — donated a chapel to the community. It was an act of remarkable generosity, and the building that followed would shape the spiritual life of this corner of Lancashire for centuries to come. The chapel's inscription, still preserved today, reads: 'This Chappell was erected at y^e cost and charges of Nathan Walworthe some to Ellis Walworthe An° Do 1625.'

The path to consecration was not straightforward. The Bishop of Chester refused to consecrate the building until money for its maintenance was guaranteed, and the dispute dragged on for nearly ten years. At one point, Walworth threatened to pull the place down entirely, sell the timber and stones, and give the money to the poor — declaring that the land would remain God's either way. His patience eventually prevailed, and the chapel was consecrated in December 1634.

The name St Saviour's Chapel was chosen by John Bridgeman, Bishop of Chester, who signed the consecration deed on 1st June 1635. It was among the first chapels built and endowed in Lancashire by private benevolence after the Reformation. Nathan never married and died in 1640/1; his portrait, painted in his capacity as steward of Baynard's Castle in London — the seat of the Pembrokes — hangs in the north aisle to this day.

Early years

In 1640, Nathan Walworth's will recorded that he had recently built a schoolhouse near the chapel — an early sign of the community role the church would play beyond Sunday worship. A vestry was added to the chapel in 1726, recorded by a plaque now on Barry's surviving tower. That schoolhouse eventually fell down in 1798 and was replaced by a new one erected by public subscription, which stood between the Horse Shoe Inn and the canal until it was demolished when a new school opened in 1872.

A portrait of Nathan Walworth was kept in the vestry of Ringley church for many years, and was engraved as the frontispiece of a published collection of his correspondence in the nineteenth century — a testament to the lasting esteem in which the founder was held by the community he served.

The second church (1826–27)

By 1826, the original chapel had been replaced by a second church, built almost on the same site and consecrated on 6th August 1827 — the Feast of Our Lord's Transfiguration. Its architect was Charles Barry, then just thirty-one years old, working under the commission of the local trustees. Barry would go on to design the Houses of Parliament. He also designed All Saints in Stand — one of several churches funded from the £1,000,000 thank offering voted by the Government following the victory at Waterloo.

The present church (1850–54)

By the mid-nineteenth century, Barry's church had become too small for the growing congregation. It was demolished in 1850 — all except the tower, which was left standing — and the foundation stone of the new church was laid by R. S. Sowler, Esq., as senior churchwarden.

The new church was designed by the Lancaster architects Sharpe and Paley — at this date principally a design by E. G. Paley, who also superintended the construction. It was consecrated on 10th June 1854 by Dr James Prince Lee, the Bishop of Manchester, and is capable of accommodating around 560 worshippers. The incumbent at the time of consecration was James Radcliffe Lyon M.A. The collection on the day raised £62. A grant of £200 was provided by the Church Building Commissioners towards the total cost of approximately £2,500, with a further £500 contributed by the 13th Earl of Derby.

The building is in the Early English Gothic style of the 13th century, constructed in mellow stone with ashlar dressings and a stone slate roof. Its plan includes a five-bay nave with a clerestory, north and south aisles, a north porch, and a chancel with a south vestry. The nave is 75 feet 6 inches long, the chancel 30 feet 6 inches. At the southwest corner stands an octagonal turret with lancet bell openings and a spire. The nave aisles have plate tracery windows of two trefoil-headed lights under quatrefoils, and the west end features three tall pointed two-light windows. The east window is a triplet, glazed with painted glass carried over from the ancient chapel.

Several fittings were carried over from the earlier church, including the chancel rails in rococo style and a communion table in the north chapel dated 1654. The stained glass on the north side of the chancel dates from the 17th century. The chancel was comprehensively refitted in the late 19th century with a High Victorian decorative scheme, at which point the original Carolean altar — previously the High altar — was moved to the Lady chapel. Later additions include an alabaster and mosaic reredos in nine panels from 1883, a rood beam with figures from 1925, and a chapel altar with canopy from 1921.

Parish records

St Saviour's has kept registers of baptisms, marriages and burials since at least 1719, making them among the most significant genealogical sources for families with roots in Ringley, Stoneclough, Outwood, Prestolee and the surrounding townships.

A growing parish

Memorials & monuments

In the south aisle are mural monuments to Matthew Fletcher, owner of the Wet Earth Colliery, who died on 21st August 1808 aged 78, and to his nephew Ellis Fletcher, who died on 26th April 1834 aged 69. The Fletchers owned Clifton Colliery among others, and Matthew Fletcher played a significant role in the construction of the Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal. Coal and passenger boats were running by 1796, before the canal was even completed. Ellis's widow Mary (died 1836) and their sons John (1836) and Ellis (1854) are also commemorated.

Inside the church stand two wooden memorial plaques — one for the First World War, one for the Second — recording the names of local servicemen and women from the parish who gave their lives. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission records ten identified casualties buried in the churchyard: six from the First World War, and four from the Second including two airmen, a soldier, and a Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve officer.

A dedicated memorial page records all the names from both plaques at St Saviour's and Holy Trinity, with full transcriptions and historical context. If you have a personal connection to any of the names, the parish would be glad to hear from you — please get in touch.

The clergy of Ringley

A plaque inside St Saviour's records the succession of clergy who have served the parish since its foundation. Erected in 1954 to mark the centenary of the consecration of the parish church, it lists the incumbents from William Seddon M.A. in 1627 through to Anthony Roache B.A. in 2002 — nearly four centuries of continuous ministry.

The list reflects the changing patterns of ministry over time: the disruptions of the Civil War period, the long tenures of the eighteenth century, and the more frequent changes of the modern era. Among those named is Talbot Dilworth-Harrison M.A. (1917–1927), who erected the First World War memorial in memory of his brother Douglas Roy Dilworth-Harrison, who fell on Easter Eve 1918.

The current Rector of the Parish of Stoneclough is Fr Stephen, serving both St Saviour's, Ringley and Holy Trinity, Prestolee.

Features of interest

St Saviour's interior rewards a careful look. Several of its fittings and furnishings carry histories stretching back centuries, and together they tell the story of the community that has worshipped here.