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There gradually developed
in the Middle Ages on the opposite bank of the river Irwell and
facing the Collegiate Church, a picturesque, half-timbered Tudor
town, distinct from Manchester although separated from it by
only the River Irwell. A Charter was granted to Salford in 1230
and for almost the following six centuries Salford maintained
its rural setting and independent existence complete with its
own market place and cross. Amongst the quaint timber buildings
a group of friends, led by Humphrey Booth of Booth Hall, built
a wooden chapel on the site where the present Sacred Trinity
Church stands. This Chapel built in 1635 was dedicated and given
the name Trinity Chapel which continued as its official title
for over three-hundred years even though it became popularly
known as the Sacred Trinity. A Pastoral Order of 20th June 1974
was obtained under the 1968 Pastoral Measure to effect a change
of name to "The Benefice and Parish of Sacred Trinity, Salford
in the Diocese of Manchester". It is the only church so
named in the British Isles.
Shortly after receiving the
Communion for the first time in his new Chapel, Humphrey Booth
died on 23rd July 1635, and was buried in the Collegiate Church.
The founder's gravestone was found upside down in the Cathedral
during the renovations of 1894 and taken to Sacred Trinity for
safe custody. It says of "Humfrey Booth, whose Piety lives
in Trinity Chappell at Salford, hee being the Chiefe Founder
and sole liberal endower of his charity in a perpetual annval
large allowance to the poore of Salford. These bee committed
not to the fayth of his execvtors, byt finished and perfected
them in his life". Further bequests in the form of properties
were added to the Booth Foundation for the maintenance of the
church and any surplus to be distributed to the poor by his name
sake grandson, who died unmarried in 1676.
By the time of the second
Humphrey Booth's legacy the church had begun to develop its own
independent life apart from the Collegiate Church, as it had
been granted the full dignity of a Parish Church in 1650. During
the following century Salford Church was the scene of much activity.
In 1733 John Wesley preached inside the place but on the evangelist's
return in 1747 he was forbidden access to its precincts and consequently
preached in the open, at Salford Cross. Some of the more unruly
elements of his congregation threatened to bring out the fire
engine if the preacher didn't desist from his work, and Wesley
was finally forced to take refuge in a nearby yard. The Minister
at the time was Dr. John Clayton who opened and maintained a
Grammar School from 1740 to 1773, when the establishment had
to close at his death. It was also during Dr. Clayton's time
that the church was rebuilt on the same site in 1752.
The great era of railway mania
almost obliterated the old Chapel of Salford. A Day-school had
been built in 1860 and adapted to the expanding population for
nearly 20 years, then came the rebuilding of the nearby one-platform
Victoria Station in an attempt to form a central point for the
railway network. The new station opened in 1884, contained thirteen
platforms and had considerable facilities for increased traffic.
In 1891 the Trinity School was demolished to make way for more
lines and in 1904 the church itself was threatened with a similar
fate. On this occasion, however, resistance to the proposals
proved too formidable and the railway was forced to replan its
route to avoid the church. This has resulted in some tortuous
curves in the lines entering the station and one platform built
within a few feet of the church.
The text has been taken from
the book` Like A Mighty Tortoise' by The Rev'd Arthur J Dobb
& Derek Ralphs. |
