St John’s is a place of worship where community, faith and heritage come together.
Rochdale has a strong collection of heritage assets, including striking civic buildings and innovative museums.
St John’s is one part of Rochdale’s proud heritage. Many of the tourists who make their way to Rochdale are keen to see the birthplace of The Rochdale Pioneers which is dedicated to the story of the Cooperative movement and its roots in Rochdale. They head for the first ever Co-operative shop which was established on Toad Lane in 1844. It is now a fine museum and definitely worth a visit on any heritage trail. It benefits from new interpretation and greater accessibility following Heritage Lottery Fund investment in 2012. Free admission, open Wed-Sat 10.30am-4pm.
Visitors will in future be able to take in a visit to Rochdale’s Grade I listed Town Hall which opened in 1871 and is now undergoing significant refurbishment thanks to a major grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Another Rochdale enterprise that has gained support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund is to be found close to the railway station and adjacent to St John’s. Fireground Museum (Formerly Greater Manchester Fire Service Museum), opened as a fire station in 1933 just a few years after St John’s. They were both built by the same builder, R & T Howarth. In the draft proposal for St John’s there is a campanile which was not built but something very similar appears in the tower at the fire station!
If you would like to visit another fine Rochdale church then The Parish Church of St Mary in the Baum could well be worth a visit. The Church is located close to The Rochdale Pioneers Museum on Toad Lane. The present Church was consecrated in 1911 but the original building was built as a chapel-of-ease to St Chad’s in 1742. Classical concerts at lunchtime are a popular feature at St Mary’s during the summer. www.visitrochdale.com.
Rochdale Parish Church of St Chad
Like St John’s, St Chad’s is a Grade II* listed building but its ancestry goes back much further. It is over 800 years old and some suppose it may well have been founded by St Chad when he travelled to this part of England in the 7th century. If you are interested in church history and architecture, St Chad’s is definitely worth a visit.
Touchstones
An interactive and family-friendly museum and art gallery with a nationally significant historic and arts collection. Located in an historic building and managed by Link4Life/Rochdale Arts and Heritage Service. Open Wed-Sat, between 10am-5pm, as well as Sun 10am-4pm. Free admission. Prior to Covid-19, had annual visitor figures in excess of 40,000. High-profile heritage offer, such as hosting of Dippy the Dinosaur from Natural History Museum.
Ukrainian Catholic Church of St Mary and St James
This is a listed former Anglican Church (Grade II) and now a Ukrainian Catholic Church. The traditional triptych screens in front of the altar and the icons around the church are in traditional Ukrainian style.
Rochdale Town Hall
Visitors will in future be able to take in a visit to Rochdale’s Grade I listed Town Hall which opened in 1871 and is now undergoing significant refurbishment thanks to a major grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Rochdale Pioneers Museum
St John’s is one part of Rochdale’s proud heritage. Many of the tourists who make their way to Rochdale are keen to see the birthplace of The Rochdale Pioneers which is dedicated to the story of the Cooperative movement and its roots in Rochdale. They head for the first ever Co-operative shop which was established on Toad Lane in 1844. It is now a fine museum and definitely worth a visit on any heritage trail. It benefits from new interpretation and greater accessibility following Heritage Lottery Fund investment in 2012. Free admission, open Wed-Sat 10.30am-4pm.
Fireground Museum (Formally Greater Manchester Fire Service Museum)
Another Rochdale enterprise that has gained support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund is to be found close to the railway station and adjacent to St John’s. Fireground Museum (Formerly Greater Manchester Fire Service Museum), opened as a fire station in 1933 just a few years after St John’s. They were both built by the same builder, R & T Howarth. In the draft proposal for St John’s there is a campanile which was not built but something very similar appears in the tower at the fire station!
The borough of Rochdale has a rich history and heritage and is the birthplace of the Co-operative movement.
The borough has benefitted from favourable levels of investment in recent years, with money from the council, the private sector and organisations like the National Heritage Lottery Fund (which has contributed towards renovating St John the Baptist Church, The Town Hall and Fireground) and Transport for Greater Manchester (see Station Square for further planned development) helping to improve a number of areas.
The borough of Rochdale is split into 4 townships: Rochdale, Heywood, Middleton and Pennines, which includes Littleborough.
Rochdale was the former engine house of the Industrial Revolution, was once one of Britain’s wealthiest towns and an important trading post for the country’s wool merchants. It boasts one of the finest town halls in the country and is the place where the worldwide Cooperative movement was born.
Rochdale is steeped in history and heritage, and surrounded by majestic countryside and wild open spaces.
Rochdale’s history can be traced right back to the Doomsday Book in 1086, named as ‘Recedam Manor’, changing to ‘Rachedale’ and then eventually ‘Rochdale’. In 1251 Rochdale was granted the Royal Charter.
In the heart of the borough, with a proud history as the birthplace of the Co-operative Movement, Rochdale town centre has a rich heritage. The Grade I 19th century Town Hall, which is undergoing major renovations, remains the jewel in Rochdale’s crown; the town’s fascinating history can be explored at Touchstones, Rochdale’s museum, art gallery and cafe.
Rochdale’s population according to the 2021 census was 223,800. Rochdale is a multi-racial town with the majority of residents born in Rochdale and identifying as British. Almost 19% of residents identify as Asian and a similar percentage as muslim. This is of particular interest to St John the Baptist Church where the ward the church is in, Milkstone and Deeplish, has a largely Asian population. Another factor with implications for St John’s Church as a heritage site is that almost 30% of people in Rochdale identified as having no religion.
If you have got this far using the new parish website, it would be great if you could spare a couple of minutes to complete our short survey. Your responses will help us to improve the way we present our parish and our heritage. The survey is completely anonymous and the results will only be used for statistical purposes.
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