St Peter’s Church | About | St Thomas More’s Church

St Peter’s Church

In the late 18th and early 19th century there were no Catholic churches in Middleton so Catholics in the town were served by visiting priests on an ad-hoc basis probably having mass celebrated only two or three times per year.

When a priest visited he would not only say Mass but also hear confessions, baptise and marry Catholics and undertake a host of duties we now take for granted. The first resident priest in Middleton was Fr Pierce Griffiths; he established a Mass centre above a shop in Old Hall Street opposite the site of the old Middleton Hall. In 1866, the Bishop began the task of establishing a permanent parish for the growing number of Catholics in Middleton. Just over twelve months later, the first St Peter’s Church was built and officially opened on 8th December 1867. By 1910, only 43 years after being built, the church was found to be in need of major repair and renovation and was unsuited to meet the needs of the growing congregation who by then numbered over 1000. Canon Wigman, who became the parish priest in 1881 decided it was more cost effective to demolish the church and rebuild one more suited to the needs of the growing Catholic community.

Parish Priests of St Peter’s ‘New’ Church

1881-1917        Canon John Wigman

1917-41            Fr Joseph Hanrahan

1941-59            Fr John Fairclough

1959-60            Fr Gerard O’Donnell (Fr J Keane, the curate, ran the parish until 30 March 1960)

1960-85            Fr Joseph Cassidy

1985-2005        Fr James Creaton (Fr Boast was priest in charge until Fr Creaton’s appointment)

2005-08            Fr Michael Howarth

2008-2018        Fr Kieren Mullarkey

2018-present    Fr Peter Hopkinson VG

Notable Events in the Life of St Peter’s Church

1917 Canon Wigman, who had been the parish priest at St Peter’s for the previous 36 years, suffered a heart attack before Mass and died. It was a great shock to the parish. He was a talented man, a Doctor of Theology who spoke five languages and was used by the local magistrate to translate in court. He was also a great ecumenicalist encouraging all the churches in Middleton to work together.

1927 Middleton was flooded on 11 July. 3 people died and 250 families lost their homes. Fr Hanrahan secured and consecrated land in Boarshaw for the burial of deceased Catholics.

1928 Six houses on Townley Street at the rear of the church and adjoining the school playground were purchased for extensions to the junior school.

1937 The official opening of St Peter’s Secondary Modern School on Kirkway.

1949 After a suspension of 8 years due to WWII, the May procession around the parish was resumed.

1953 Post-war house building including the Langley Estate saw the population of Middleton double. The diocese decided to establish a new parish on the new Langley estate. Fr Murphy was appointed parish priest.

1957 St Dominic Savio School opened on 9 September.

1959 The De La Salle Brothers opened the Cardinal Langley Grammar School.

1960 Fr Cassidy took over as parish priest and he established a Mass Centre on the Boarshaw Hotel on Stanycliffe Lane.

1982 On 31 May Pope St John Paul II visited Heaton Park, Manchester.

1989 St Dominic Savio and Cardinal Langley High Schools merged.

1993 The Parish Centre was opened on 20 December.