History of the Church

Services were regularly held in the National School in Castleton, which was erected in 1855. As part of the ancient parish of Rochdale, clergy from the parish church there provided the ministrations for the township of Castleton.  In 1857 the Reverend J.C.Bates arrived aged 31, having previously served at Didsbury, Hull and Buxton, the last as incumbent.

Dr Molesworth, then Vicar of Rochdale had in the previous year held negotiations with the workers in Castleton, for the idea of Castleton as a separate parish with a church on its own. He promised an endowment of £50 per annum form the living of Rochdale and his consent to the project providing the parishioners first raised £1,000 for the further endowment of the living of Castleton.  This dampened the enthusiasm of the Castleton church folk who did not imagine they could raise the sum, in addition to the cost of building a church.  Mr. Bates however felt that a church could and would be built by public subscription.

A meeting took place on the 1st May, 1858 where the following gentlemen were present:

Thomas Woolner  Church Warden,
James Chadwick
John Butterworth,
James Butterworth
Rev. J.C. Bates

"It was decided unanimously that the new church should be proceeded with, with all convenient speed and for that purpose a committee was formed of the above named gentlemen with power to add to their number."

 Within ten days of the meeting, Mr. Isaac Holder, the architect commissioned to prepare plans met the committee.  His plans were more costly than committee felt justified and he was asked to modify certain features to reduce the cost to £2,500.  For more than twelve months there were many meetings, and the plans were used to form the basis of the appeal for funds.  Appeals were made both locally and with all societies interested in church building. The architect had still exceeded his instructions, and even with the cost reduced to £3,100 this would still have produced an incomplete church. Nevertheless, quantities were prepared and estimates were received from contractors.

Finances for the project were proving to be far short of what had been anticipated, and on 14th February, 1859 the building committee considered abandoning the design so far adopted.  £3,000 was considered to be the amount needed before the project could commence.  Mr. Bates was anxious for the work to commence in the spring as the lease of the school terminated in 1860.  A visit to the Poynton, where a church had been completed for £3,000 was made to see how this might suit.

Further efforts were made to raise funds, but this was proving difficult, and it was realized that either the start of building must be delayed or a less expensive design be found.

On the 7th March a meeting took place and the Poynton design appeared to suit, so on the following day the committee met with the Architect in his office. There was lengthy discussion on the plans which still resulted in the costs remaining well over £3,000 even cutting out the features of the original design.

On the 21st March 1859 a discussion took place and it was resolved that the present design be abandoned  and the Mr. Holden be asked to keep the design to within £2,500 and inclusive of all extras, not to exceed £3,000.  Mr. Holden does not however seem to have been eager to change his design.  It wasn't until 8th September of 1859, that Mr. Holden put forward his account for the amount of work so far, and no new designs had so far been submitted.

The building committee met on the 20th and all were agreed that the charge of £100 for plans, and £87 10s 0d for quantities considered too high and that Mr. Holden be asked to justify his costs.

Mr. Jas. Butterworth put forward the motion that Mr. Ernest Bates be asked to meet the committee on Thursday afternoon, the 22nd September to confer with the committee on the building of the church.
At that meeting he advised that for preparing the plans etc. he would charge 5% on the cost if the church was built. He was prepared to provide four designs for free, however he would not charge more than £50 should there be any detailed drawings. The instructions given to him were that the cost should not exceed £3,000 and should include a Nave, North and South aisles, chancel, vestry, tower and spire, South porch, heating and fencing, the nave to have clerestory. He promised to have the plans ready in a week or so.

On October 4th, a meeting took place to inspect the sketches, and changes made to the ground plans, while the exterior proved satisfactory. Material cost were discussed, and the architect agreed to provide samples for the next meeting.  There were many such meetings in October, and obvious progress was being made with the first sod being cut on 22nd October 1859.

The Rev. J. C. Bates wrote,

"Today the first sod of the ground on which the new church is about to be built was turned by Thomas Hartley and handed over to Mr. J. Holland Butterworth, who in the name of his Father as landlord delivered it into the hands of Dr. Molesworth , Vicar  of Rochdale in token of their giving him the possession o the site of ground ( consisting of one acre ) on which to build a church to the honour and glory of Almighty God and for the benefit of the district of Castleton Moor."

The winter of 1859 was a busy one, and money was difficult to raise.  Although the committee wished to pay Mr. Holdern for his work, they were anxious only to pay what they felt was due, and they offered £150 but this was refused and a writ was issued against them.  Finally 2 1/2 % on plans and quantities for the original reduced estimate of £3,142 was paid.

Meanwhile the site was being prepared and the crest of the hill was leveled by volunteers, and the masons sheds were dotted there, where stones were shaped and dressed.  The principal contracts were let to Edmund Taylor of Rochdale for mason's work, the church to be built of "best Yorkshire stone for the sum of £1,770 (subject to certain conditions in the agreement)": to Mr. Mills of Rochdale for the wood work £650; to HUH. Looms of Manchester for plastering, staining, and varnishing all woodwork £115; and to Owen L. Robinson for plumbing and glazing £111.

These contracts add up to £2,646, and made no allowance for many other possible and probably expenses such as the architect's fees.  Because of this the committee were probably cautious and did not give instructions for the spire to be started. and no accommodation had been found for an organ to be installed.

Considerably preparation then took place for the ceremony of the laying of  the first stone.  Originally fixed for 26th May, 1860 it was postponed to the following July on the 4th

The days weather was at first poor, but by the afternoon the sun was shining.  A procession gathered at Sudden, and the streets were bedecked with flags and streamers. The procession walked to the hill were St. Martins stands now, and the site was encircled and prayers read by the Curate-in-charge.

Thomas Woolner, Esquire handed a richly decorated silver trowel to Dr. Molesworth.  who had never laid a stone before and acknowledged how much he remember the day.  In the stone was placed a bottle containing an account for the movement for the erection of the church, copies of the Manchester and district newspapers, some of the current coin and a Waterloo medal  presented for the purpose on the evening before the ceremony by  Richard Ward, of Rochdale , a pensioner formerly of the 12th Light Dragoons who fought in the Peninsula and at Waterloo.

The festivities lasted throughout the day, even the Woolner's mill could not seat all the 400 who attended the dinner, and the Rev. Bates outlined at the toast the situation at the time.  He advised that:

Towards the cost of £3,000 (for the church at present envisaged), and £1,000 for the endowment of the living , £2,600 had been raised which included £200 from the Incorporated Church Building Society and £150 from the Diocesan Society, so that at least £1,400 was necessary to have the church built and free from debt.  Even then, more was required to equip the church completely.

The building work went on for two years, and the committee were impatient  asking the architect to urge the work on.

Despite asking and getting from individuals what they could afford, it was felt that a bazaar was necessary to obtain the balance of the money.  It was a four day's effort which took place in Sparrow Hills School, Rochdale, on 25th - 28th April 1862.  £473 was realized on the first day, £263 on the second, the amount reached over £1,000 for the first three days and the final result was almost £1,500. It was more successful than had been envisaged!

An organ chamber had been added, and it now did not seem to great a risk to proceed with the building of the spire.  In April 1862, not long before the consecration of the church took place, and when an estimate of the cost of the spire was given as £210, the architect was allowed to instruct the builder to erect it for that figure.

The rest of the work was approaching completion and the date of the consecration became a subject for consideration.  The actual date was decided by the Bishop, who selected  14th June, 1862. There was no the same visible rejoicing on this day as on the 4th July, 1860 but the service did not lend itself to an outward display of feelings:  its dignity and solemnity stirred emotions of a higher order.

Castleton had its Church of St. Martin, and it had its first Vicar, for the Rev. Joseph Chadwick Bates, M.A., of Queen's College, Oxford, was licensed to the incumbency on 17th June, 1862.  

Hilary Altar

The church was empty while it was waiting to be restored.  One of the things that was removed was the altar in the St Hilary chapel. This has been donated to:- Wartime Preservation Trust (Historic Warships), Birkenhead http://www.warships.freeserve.co.uk/index.html It is now inside HMS Plymouth where it is part of a chapel of rememberance in memory of those persons lost in the Falkland war. The photos below were taken by the Roach family.

 

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