All Saints, Glossop

Introduction

ME Hadfield & TG Weightman designed the church, which was built in 1836 for the 12th Duke of Norfolk.

History

The church has a good set of early C20 stained glass windows with central figures of saints and martyrs in complex Renaissance surrounds. By 1803, the congregation had grown large enough to merit a full-time priest, Father Joseph Barbe, one of the clergy who had fled France after the Revolution. The Howard family built the church in 1836 and used it as their private chapel and regular place of worship.

Architecture and furnishings

The church is built of millstone grit ashlar with a Welsh slate roof and deeply overhanging eaves forming pedimented gables. The church is Neo-classical in style, with a nave and apsidal sanctuary set within a rectangular plan with vestries to the rear over a basement. The east, ritual west, entrance front has a rusticated ashlar facade with 4 giant Tuscan Doric pilasters and a central doorway with 6-panel double doors. The west, ritual east front has a large ashlar bellcote with a single round arched opening with bell, bracketed cornice and cross finial.

The interior has a coved plaster ceiling and a gallery with open balustrade supported by large console brackets. The church has a plinth and a plain entablature. The side elevations each have pairs of giant Tuscan Doric pilasters at either end and 5 tall windows in shouldered ashlar surrounds, those to west with glazing bar sashes. The west front has single giant Tuscan Doric pilasters at either end and a single small 16-pane sash to left, with a small circular window in the pediment above.

The sanctuary has an elliptical arch flanked by doors to vestries and a coved plaster ceiling. The church mirrors the design of Saint Paul's church in Covent Garden. The furnishings include open-backed nave benches and more elaborate choir stalls with later sanctuary rails.

Parish life

The parish offers a three-part introduction to the Catholic Faith from the Catholic Truth Society. The parish offers the Sycamore sessions, described as 'The Catholic faith explained'.

The parish has a Glossop rosary group. The parish has a Sacristans ministry. The parish has an Altar servers ministry.

The parish has a Pastoral Council. The parish has a joint parish coffee morning at Bradbury House. The parish has a CAFOD representative. The parish holds a cake sale after Sunday morning Masses to raise funds for CAFOD.

Sacraments and pastoral care

The baptism course helps parents enjoy the baptism day more fully by explaining the meaning behind the ceremonies. The parish provides baptism preparation resources, including a document titled 'Baptism Information for Parents'. The parish offers a Confirmation preparation group.