THE ANCIENT PARISH
OF BOLTON
There is ample evidence that a Saxon church was perched on the
elevated site on which the present parish church of St. Peter,
Bolton-le-Moors stands. Only conjecture could reconstruct either
this Saxon building or its Norman successor and it is open to
debate whether it was designated a parish church or if it was
just an outlying monastic chapel served by the monks of Maresay
Abbey in Lincoln. At an unrecorded date in the mid C13th Bolton
became "a Prebendal Church under the peculiar jurisdiction
of the Chapter of Lichfield Cathedral" a relationship which
continued until the C16th. Somewhere about 1420 the church was
replaced by one of the region's typical squat village churches
with a sturdy square tower at the west end.
The west door of Bolton parish
church was a silent witness to the transactions of the market
place and to many scenes of the town's history. During the Civil
War Lord Derby was executed at the Market Cross in retaliation
for the Royalists' massacre of 1644 and the desecration of the
church. At the same spot John Wesley received rough treatment
from Bolton's inhabitants "many of them utterly wild".
Overlooking the place and opposite the hostelry named "Man
and Scythe" where the unfortunate Lord Derby spent his last
moments before execution, is a house once inhabited by Richard
Arkwright, inventor of the Water Frame".
The list of clergymen who
have served Bolton begins with John de Sanwyog who was in office
in 1254. Six others are named in C14th and three in C15th. From
circa 1486 the list of succession is virtually complete even
though some named may have been assistant curates or held the
office of Lecturer which received its independence through endowments
in 1622. One or two names are worth mentioning. Richard Goodwin,
a Sussex man, came to Bolton about 1640 and "was settled
in ye Vicaridge of ye sd. Bolton in ye yeare 1657". In 1662
he was ejected from his benefice but continued to fulfil a most
vigorous itinerant ministry amidst the turbulent times until
his death at Harwood. Relationships with his successor must have
been cordial for he officiated at a wedding in the Parish Church
in 1668 and was finally buried under the church on Christmas
Day 1685. In 1755 the longest serving and the most eccentric
of all Bolton's clergy, affectionately known as Parson Fold,
took up the Lectureship, at the age of 27. He served in that
capacity and as curate to the isolated chapel at Dimple for 65
years, during which time five vicars held the living of Bolton.
During the first half of the
nineteenth century Bolton was governed by Canon James Slade,
who was vicar from 1817 till 1856. Canon Slade was the son of
a Somerset vicar and, on appointment, son-in-law of the Bishop
of Chester. He was made a King's Preacher for the county, a Residentiary
Canon of Chester Cathedral and held, in plurality, the Rectory
of West Kirby. He was one of those majestic Evangelical personalities
of the last century whose pastoral concern stretched from the
preaching of the Gospel to all in his care, to the provision
of education for both the young and old, to support of the hospital
work and the establishing of a Savings Bank in the town.
There is a veritable list
of churches which were built in Bolton during Slade's incumbency
in Bolton: Holy Trinity (1827), Emmanuel (1838), St. John 1849,
(demolished since 1960~), St. Stephen and All Martyrs, Lever
Bridge (1845), Christ Church (1844 demolished circa 1936). There
were others built within the boundaries of the Bolton parish
but in other townships as at Farnworth (1826), Walmsley (to replace
Dimple Chapel), Harwood (1840), Astley Bridge, Belmont and Breightmet.
Turton Chapel was rebuilt. This notoriety resigned his Bolton
living on 29th December 1856 and retired to the Rectory at West
Kirby, where he died in 1860 aged 77 years.
It fell to the lot of Slade's
overshadowed and oft-forgotten successor, Canon Henry Powell,
to rebuild the old parish church. During its four hundred year
existence, the fabric of the building had suffered through constant
changes and atmospheric pollution. A local cotton spinner, Peter
Ormrod of Halliwell Hall, offered to bear the cost of a new church
to the extent of £30,000 in response to this "rare
opportunity afforded me of testifying my gratitude to Almighty
God for his unnumbered mercies". It took four years to build
the new edifice on the site of its predecessor. It was consecrated
on St. Peter's Day (29th June) 1871 and had actually cost £45,000
to complete. The architect, (E. G. Paley of the Paley and Austin
partnership of Lancaster) certainly succeeded in forming an impressive
feature to conclude Bolton's main thoroughfare with its four-stage
tower 180 feet high and so aligned that all four pinnacles can
be seen from Churchgate. The spacious building was designed to
seat 1,200 people unfettered by galleries and from east to west
the interior of the church is over 150 feet long.
A curious story during the
demolition of the old church reflects the hazards with which
any preservationist is faced at such a time. Immediately below
the Communion Table there was found a forgotten family vault
in which there was a coffin containing a human body seemingly
in a perfect state. Canon Powell was called to the site, the
coffin lid removed and within two or three minutes after being
exposed to the air the apparently solid body melted into the
appearance of a figure covered with transparent gauze, and the
next moment, it completely vanished leaving only dust in the
remains of the oak coffin. When this was touched it crumbled
to pieces until all that was left was some small bone fragments
and the corroded metal fittings.
Links between the present
Bolton church and its A.D. 1420 predecessor can be found in some
of the furnishings. Three mediaeval miserere seats, the largest
of which is the Vicar's stall; the pulpit is made of timber from
the old church, the peal of bells was housed in the previous
tower and a number of memorials preserved. Patronage from either
individuals or groups have provided support and gifts which have
added to the graciousness of the building and interest for the
visitor. One of the first additions was the reredos, designed
by Austin, the architect's partner, added in 1878 as the memorial
to Mr.Ormrod. Quite recently the south-west corner of the church
has been transformed into a "Museum-Chapel" by the
Friends of Bolton Parish Church. Many of the historic treasures
are displayed in an attractive manner and tell something more
of the sacred story of the parcel of land now covered by this
grandiose piece of Victoriana which seems to stand in defiance
against the houses of commerce which it overlooks.
The text has been taken from
the book` Like A Mighty Tortoise' by The Rev'd Arthur J Dobb
& Derek Ralphs. |
