“This church [will] take its place among the notable churches of the country… [it has] given Rochdale a building not unworthy to rank with the great architectural achievements that already distinguish the town”. – Cardinal Bourne, Opening ceremony for St John’s in 1925

Key features of our artistic and architectural heritage

The building itself is a significant component of Rochdale’s treasured heritage. The church was built to accommodate the growing number of Roman Catholic people in the Rochdale area in at the beginning of the twentieth century. As the principal Catholic Church in the town, St John’s was designed to host up to 1200 people. At its heart, St John’s is a place of congregation and worship – somewhere for the community to come together, to meet and to pray. Through our restoration project and activity programmes, we want to honour the original purpose of St John’s as a working church serving those who wish to worship there and we are also committed to opening the building up to our diverse Rochdalian communities and visitors to the town.

St John’s is a modernist marvel. It was designed by Manchester architect Oswald Hill (who died as a World War One pilot in1917) and overseen by E Bower Norris. Building work started in 1923 and was completed in 1925. The church’s daring concrete design reinforced Rochdale’s reputation for striking civic structures and ecclesiastical buildings.

The current building replaced an earlier 1830s stone church, also named St John’s. Prior to its construction, catholic residents predominantly made up of migrant workers from Ireland, prayed in make-shift churches in the town’s woolen mills. For some in the community, the construction of the first St John’s represented a determination for religious equality and Rochdale’s tolerance of diversity. The unusual ‘in-the-round’ design of our current church also creates a large circular space for people to congregate.

St John’s is an iconic Rochdale landmark building with a dome that can be seen for miles around. The present church was the inspiration of the Reverend Henry Chipp who was parish priest from1897 until 1936. He wanted it designed in Byzantine style based on the church of Santa Sophia in Istanbul. Plans were prepared before World War One (1914-18) when the cost of the building including campanile or bell tower (which was not built) was an estimated £12,800. The architects were Mr E Bower Norris and Mr Oswald Hill.

Bishop Casartelli laid the foundation stone to the new church on 28 July 1923. The building was completed in 1925 at a cost of £21,000. St John’s was built in the style of a Greek cross with the four transepts forming the arms of the cross. The concrete dome and the barrel vaults are one single slab of concrete, only five inches thick at the dome and 95 feet high. While the dome demonstrated the early use of concrete, the outer face of the building is in brick and is the work of local builders R & T Haworth who also built the nearby Fire station Museum as well as many other Rochdale buildings.

The altar, pulpit, organ, baptismal font, altar rails and pews were transferred from the old church. The pulpit was later removed and remodelled to construct the lectern, the organ was replaced by an electric organ and the baptismal font was moved from the back of the church to its present position at the front.

The Second Vatican Council, which concluded in 1965, resulted in many changes to the way the Catholic Church functioned. At St John’s the alar rail was removed, a new altar was placed near the front of the sanctuary so the priest could face the people and the Mass was celebrated in English rather than Latin.

It was reasonable to expect that the changes that were made to the liturgy and the configuration of the church would help parishioners to engage more fully in the life of the church. In reality society was changing, faith practice was declining and the number of practising Catholics attending St John’s was far below the numbers the church was built to accommodate. In the 1990s, in response to these changed conditions and to foster community cohesion, a community room and kitchen were built in the north transept while parish accommodation, a piety shop and a sacristy were constructed in the south transept. The glass-fronted narthex at the back of the church was yet another adaptation from the original design.

Bishop Casartelli laid the foundation stone to the new church on 28 July 1923.

“The Oppenheimer mosaic at St John’s is of national and international significance. It is one of the best surviving examples of Eric Newton’s work” – Gary Bricknell, Mosaic Artist and Conservator

The interior of St John’s is characterised by long curved lines and unadorned smooth walls. At the heart of the church, in the sanctuary, are the opulent Oppenheimer mosaics, designed and coordinated by the artist Eric Newton. These awe-inspiring floor-to-ceiling decorations are widely recognised as one of the finest examples of modernist art and craft in the country with international significance making it of artistic, historic and architectural interest.

Designed by Eric Newton, the floor-to-ceiling mosaic covers a vast apsed sanctuary space. The high-quality tiles were sourced from Venice, where Newton was trained, as well as other glass and tesserae from artisans in France. Newton’s mosaic covers an area of over 315 square metres and depict scenes from the bible, including an unusual depiction of the devil (almost unique in Catholic churches), inspired by 19^th century artist William Blake. The central motif is a large image of Christ, immersed in gold that glistens and catches the light as you move through the church. Eric Newton’s scheme and the central image were all inspired by Byzantine designs and traditions found in Turkey, which also influenced the development of Islamic architecture.

“It’s a multi-cultural town where people live and work closely together, particularly in the area where the church is located”. – Local Resident

Throughout Its existence, visitors to St John’s have been singularly impressed by the splendor of the artwork and for some visitors the rich tapestry of individual pieces also emerged as an inspirational symbol for Rochdale’s mosaic of multicultural communities.

“St John’s mosaics can represent the different people and communities living in Rochdale” – Asylum Seeker

The sanctuary mosaic has the potential to connect with a wide range of audiences. Some who see the mosaic want to understand the visual language and symbolic nature of the artwork. For others there is a particular interest in how the artist designed the mosaic and how skilled craftsmen made the mosaic. It has even been suggested that the mosaic of many colours that work together is an appropriate metaphor for Rochdale which could be viewed as a town made up of a mosaic of many different cultural communities!