Our Lady and All Saints, Parbold

Introduction

The church was solemnly consecrated on 28 May 1884 by the Bishop of Leeds, Dr. Robert Cornthwaite.

History

Before the church opened in 1884, Catholics of Parbold and Dalton belonged to the Wrightington mission. Edmund Kirby (1838-1920) of Liverpool was the architect of the church. Richard Ainscough died on 17 July 1877, before the church was completed.

The church was originally denoted as St Mary's RC Church on local maps. The church was built with accommodation for 400 people. The stone for the church came from Parbold Hill quarries. The church cost at least £12,000, according to expert calculations.

Architecture and furnishings

The church was built between May 1878 and May 1884 at a cost of £12,000. The church is constructed of sandstone rubble with slate roofs. The church comprises a western tower 165 feet high with spire, nave with clerestory, north and south aisles, south main porch and minor porch, lowered chancel, north chapel, south chapel and south vestry. The tower has angle buttresses, corner pinnacles, a bell stage with trefoiled lancet openings and a 4-light west window with traceried head.

The stone spire has lucarnes. The nave is of five bays, with clerestory windows of triple stepped lancets. The aisles are lit by trefoiled lancets, mostly paired, separated by buttresses. The main porch has a moulded pointed outer doorway.

At the east end of the chancel is a rose window. The interior has a five-bay nave arcade of pointed arches with inner chamfers and outer mouldings, springing from round piers with moulded caps. The tower arch is pointed and has paired engaged shafts as responds. The nave roof is boarded and has trusses with arched braces on corbelled wallposts.

Arches open into the north transeptal chapel from the aisle and the chancel-retro choir. The south chapel has one arched entrance from the aisle and two arches opening from the chancel-retro choir. The chancel-retro choir has an arched ceiling divided by two ribs with stencil decoration.

The reredos depicts the nine orders of angels carrying items associated with the Passion of Jesus. A window on the south side depicts the Virgin Mary and St Joseph in memory of Abbot Ildephonsus Brown OSB, Parish Priest 1891-1917.

A statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is in memory of S. Ainscough, 1 June 1893. A memorial to all those who have died as a result of violence and war was erected on 14 April 2014 and blessed on Easter Sunday. St Benedict's Chapel has a wall war memorial to the ten parishioners who gave their lives in the First World War. St Benedict's Altar depicts from left to right: St Scholastica, St Gregory, St Benedict, St Augustine of Canterbury, St Placid. The Lady Chapel wall has a memorial to Captain Cyril Ainscough, 5th Battalion Manchester Regiment, killed in action at the Dardanelles on 7 August 1915.

Music and liturgy

A congregational choir sings at Sunday Mass and at Christmas and Easter services. On Sundays, music is provided by either the organ or the piano.

In 1973, the pulpit was removed from the south east corner of the nave. In 1984, a small porch was constructed under the south side of the tower. In 2003, the high altar was moved to the front of the chancel and lowered another step, so that it stood four steps above the nave level.

Parish life

The church has proved a popular concert venue, particularly for choirs. The parish has a team of volunteers who maintain the church, its grounds and cemetery. The parish has received a number of awards in the Lancashire Best Kept Village Competition, receiving the highest accolade in 2023. The parish has a Parish Pastoral Advisory Group (PPAG) initiated in 2011, which met three times a year until 2019 and has since been held in abeyance.

The parish has an ashes plot in the cemetery, opened in 2001. The parish agreed to maintain the small cemetery of 54 plots located within the boundary wall with Lancaster Lane.

The parish has a Memorial Book of the deceased of Our Lady and All Saints, compiled in 2013 and blessed on 3 November 2013. The parish has a Commonwealth War Graves Commission grave for Boyers Cuthbert, Intelligence Corps, who died on 22 December 1941. The parish has a mensal depicting the Coronation of Mary, Queen of Heaven, surrounded by All Saints, patrons of the church. The parish has a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary inside the church. Walks and Talks also prove popular.

Regular events

The Rosary Group leads the Rosary before Tuesday evening Mass for special prayer intentions. Parish barbeques and picnics take place a couple of times a year. The parish enjoys visits to pilgrimage sites locally and overseas.

Sacraments and pastoral care

Special Ministers of Holy Communion bring Communion to sick and housebound parishioners. The parish has a finance team that meets three times per year and issues an annual report on finances.