Chadderton - Religion

Religion

See also: List of churches in Greater Manchester

Chadderton had no medieval church of its own, and until 1541, for ecclesiastical purposes, lay within the parish of Prestwich-cum-Oldham in the Diocese of Lichfield. The diocese was then divided, and Chadderton became part of the Diocese of Chester. This in turn was divided in 1847, when the present Diocese of Manchester was created. For ritual baptisms, marriages and burials, the people of Chadderton, a Christian community, had to travel to churches that lay outside of the township's boundaries, including Oldham St Mary's, Middleton St Leonard's, and Prestwich St Mary's. The route of some of the ancient paths to these churches is preserved in the modern layout of some of the town's roads.

The New Parishes Act 1844 allowed for the creation of a parish for Chadderton, dedicated to St Matthew the Evangelist. Services were initially held in the stables of Chadderton Hall, and then in a temporary wooden structure opened in 1848. The Church of St Matthew was opened for the parish in 1857 by the then Bishop of Manchester, James Prince Lee. A steeple was added in 1881. Following the construction of this church, four followed. There are now several Anglican parishes, and within them daughter and mission churches, serving the town. The parish of St Matthew united with the neighbouring parish of St Luke, and the United Benefice of St Matthew with St Luke now lies within the Tandle Deanery of the Diocese of Manchester. Also within this deanery is the Parish Church of St Mark, built in the early 1960s. It is a blue brick building with a graduated slate pitched roof, and a rectangular brick steeple with a high gabled roof. It was granted Grade II listed building status in 1998.

In addition to the Church of England, a variety of Reformed denominations have been practiced in Chadderton. Nonconformism was popular in Chadderton, and places of worship for Methodism, Baptist and Congregationalism were built during the 19th and 20th centuries. Washbrook Methodist Church and School at Butler Green was built in 1868, but was demolished around 1970.

Chadderton forms part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Salford. The Roman Catholic Parish of Corpus Christi was founded in Chadderton in 1878, following immigration to the region by Irish Catholics fleeing the Great Famine. A combined school and church was opened in 1904. A further Catholic parish for Chadderton, dedicated to Saint Herbert, was created in 1916. Its first mass was held on 1 July 1916, the day the Battle of the Somme began.