St Josephs Church Ramsbottom

The Catholic church of Ramsbottom, its tower and spire standing directly on Bolton Street.

The mission

A Catholic mission was established in Ramsbottom in 1861 under Fr Laurence Schneider, and a presbytery was built the following year. The mission struggled in its early years until 1869, when it was taken over by Fr Bernard De Mullewie, a Belgian priest, under whom the present church was begun.

The building

The Bishop of Salford laid the first stone. The completed church comprises a nave fronting straight onto the street with north and south aisles, a chancel and sacristies, with the tower and spire placed at the south-west corner facing Bolton Road. The style is a simple thirteenth-century Gothic of Early Geometric character. Cardinal Manning opened the church in 1880.

Sources: Taking Stock — Catholic churches of England and Wales; Architects of Greater Manchester.