A Quick Exploration of Manchester

A general view of St. Ann's church

When in Manchester to attend a fashion buyers event at the ABode Hotel, organised by FashionablyIn, I had expected to be busy for most of the day and had made no plans to explore Manchester; however, the event turned out to be low key, with very few exhibitors, and I found myself with time on my hands. 

The Duke of Wellington monument

Having spent much of the year investigating mediaeval churches, I did do a bit of research on Manchester Cathedral but, with the bulk of the original masonry being replaced in the C19 with Upper Carboniferous sandstone and gritstone, it wasn’t high on my list of places to visit. 

The Queen Victoria Monument

Wandering around in the sunshine, I didn’t stop to closely look at any of the very many historic buildings and monuments but, like Leeds and Sheffield, numerous building stones have been used and I have since thought that it might make a suitable field trip for the Sheffield U3A Geology Group. 

Manchester Town Hall

The only building that I did take time to look at in any detail was the Classical style St. Ann’s church, built during the reign of Queen Anne in 1709 using Collyhurst stone, which was also used for Manchester Cathedral. 

The tower of St. Ann's church

Quarried 2 km to the north-east of the church, this red/purple Permian aeolian sandstone was an important building stone in the pre-industrial Manchester but it has not proved particularly durable, as can be seen in the extent to which the masonry has been replaced. 

A general view along the north elevation of St. Ann's church

A major restoration was undertaken from 1886 to 1891 by Alfred Waterhouse and there are various phases of more modern repairs, in the 1950’s which were considered to be very unsatisfactory, with the last being completed in 2012. 

A restored doorway

The dark purplish Collyhurst sandstone has not been easy to match for restoration work and several stones have been used over the years – with bright red sandstone from Runcorn and the red and mottled Hollington stone, both of Triassic age, being the best geological match; however, buff and pale brown Upper Carboniferous sandstones from Darley Dale in Derbyshire and Parbold in Lancashire respectively have also been used. 

Red sandstone from Runcorn used in the restoration of the apse

I really didn’t have the time to look at any of the stonework in detail, but some of the most recent restoration has a distinctive pink colour, with darker bands, and is apparently from the Matlock area – suggesting that this is Hall Dale stone. 

A view of the interior of St. Ann's church

Looking quickly at its interior, apart from some marble in the floor of the chancel, there is not much of interest for the geologist and, with time moving on, I stopped to take a photo of the Boer War Memorial in St. Ann’s Square and then walked quickly down to Manchester Cathedral. 

The Boer War Memorial in St. Ann's Square

Quickly looking at its exterior, I didn’t see anything that obviously interested and me and, popping my head inside to see that a charge is made for taking photographs – albeit a small one – I decided to leave this for another day. 

Manchester Cathedral

At the end of a sweltering Friday, it seemed that everyone in Manchester was preparing for a good weekend and, after briefly taking advantage of the Wetherspoons on Picadilly myself, I continued to Manchester Picadilly Railway Station – where there is a wonderful World War I memorial – and then headed back home.

A war memorial at Manchester Picadilly railway station