St Andrews
Church Street
(Church of England)
Extracts from Centenary Handbook written by Mr. D. Winterbottom
The 1,600 square yards of land given to the working men of Hadfield by Henry Granville Fitzalan Howard, 14th Duke of Norfolk and owner of the Manor of Glossop, was in a sloping and irregular field at the back of the Railway Tavern, a field whose later development would be called Railway Street and Salisbury Street. For the village of Hadfield was now extending towards the recently built (1845) railway station.
An extract from the Manchester Guardian 23rd August 1854 reads:
” A bazaar in aid of the fund of erecting a school house in the hamlet of Hadfield in the parish of St. James, Whitfield was held in the Town Hall, Glossop on Thursday and Friday last…. there is at present no building in Hadfield available for Divine Worship according to the ritual of the Church of England and it is intended to use the school house for that purpose until funds warrant the commencement of a Church. A further extract dated 11th November 1854 reads ” a church school is shortly to be erected at Hadfield. The Duke of Norfolk has given land for the site”
In 1855 the School was completed and brought into use. Services were performed there twice every Sunday by the officiating curate, Rev. T. M. Freeman. The Sunday School activities were complemented by its use also as a Day School for children whose parents would pay two or three pence a week.
In February 1872 a site “near the present school” was selected and granted by Lord Howard of Glossop at a cost of £557 and a firm of architects, M. & M. Taylor of Manchester were engaged to design a building with a ground plan like that of Glossop Church but “with different external appearance, a much smaller spire and no gallery”. It is a building in the Gothic style. The contract for the foundation work was given to Mr. T. Holroyd and the ceremonial laying of the foundation stone was fixed for 30th November 1872.
An elaborate procession through the village was organised for the stone laying ceremony, it was led by Waterside Band. Those who prominently featured in the procession were members of the Orange Lodge, members of the Borough Council including Councillor Eastham of The Thorns, Hadfield who was on horseback, Mr. & Mrs. Samuel Wood, Colonel Sidebottom and his sister Lucy Hannah. The stone was laid by the Vicar of Glossop, Rev. J. D. Knowles.
The Church was built by Mr. T. Wharam and was consecrated by the Bishop of Lichfield, Dr. Selwyn on Saturday 4th July 1874 when it was “scarcely yet finished”. The first Vicar was Rev. Joseph Hadfield – he had his Church, bare of decoration at first but an enthusiastic congregation. He moved into his vicarage ” having been purchased and conveyed by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners” in a house adjacent to the Old Cross. His incumbency was to last 43 years. His successor was Rev. A. C. M. White who died whilst chatting to workmen inside the Church in 1956.
The font, worked in native stone, was presented by Mr. James Sherriff, of Canterbury, New Zealand who was previously a native of Hadfield was sent “carriage paid” from New Zealand to Hadfield Railway Station.
The Church is still in use today.
Major Additions and Alterations include:
1879 – An organ was presented by James Sidebottom of Arrowscroft House, Hollingworth in memory of his wife, Ellen P. Sidebottom.
1900 – A window in memory of Mrs. Mary Hadfield, wife of Rev. Joseph Hadfield.
1904 – A memorial window to Alfred Walker ( Headmaster of the Day School for 38 years and Superintendent of the Sunday School for over 30 years was erected.
1914 – 1918 – Carved Oak reredos and Altar added in memory of those who died during the First World War.
1923 – Choir Vestry built.
1938 – A finely carved pulpit presented by Mr. & Mrs. J. H. Garlick in memory of Mr. & Mrs. T. Jackson.
1938 – Children’s Corner added.
1939 – 1945 – The electronic bells installed to the memory of those who died during the Second World War.
1947 – The Lady Chapel was created by “The Mothers”.
1949 – “Goddard Memorial Window” was given by Mr. & Mrs. Goddard in memory of their son, reported missing on a bombing raid over Nuremberg in 1943.
1955 – The clock outside the church was erected in memory of Rev. A. C. M. White.
1964 – The electronic organ was added.
1980 – £3,000 was raised by voluntary contributions to repair the spire.