All Souls Church was designed by Paley and Austin and built in 1878-81. Paley and Austin were one of the most prolific church architects, designing some of the most impressive Gothic Revival churches. All Souls was paid for by the Greenhalgh brothers, who were mill owners with a strong evangelical faith. The church was designed to seat about 800 worshippers, all of whom would have had an excellent view due to the lack of columns. The church was designed so that the congregation were able to hear the sermon clearly.

To read more about Paley and Austin visit Lancashire Pioneers - Paley and Austin

All Souls is a fine example of Victorian church building at a time when the industrial population was growing. In 1773 only 5339 people lived in Bolton- by 1821 the town had grown to over 30,000. The parish of All Souls was created in 1879 to serve a growing population from the mills and terraced streets that housed the workforce. By the middle of the twentieth century, the cotton industry had declined and in 1962 the parish was combined with St James, Waterloo Street. As time went by, the congregation got smaller and All Souls was closed. In 1986 the church was vested in the Churches Conservation Trust, who look after historic churches no longer needed for worship.

The Greenhalgh Brothers

Thomas and Nathaniel Greenhalgh lived at Thorndykes, Sharples on the northern edge of Bolton and owned a cotton mill in Halliwell. They made their fortune from spinning cotton. They were concerned for the moral and spiritual wellbeing of their workers. Nathaniel died in 1877 and left his fortune to Thomas, who used it to pay for the building of the church and the school next door. He insisted that the church be dedicated to All Souls. Paley and Austin began work in the summer of 1878 and they appointed Cordingley and Stopford of Manchester to build the church. Building began without ceremony in 1878. Thomas Greenalgh didn’t approve of the pomp of laying a foundation stone.

All Souls cost £16,500 without the interior fittings, and was consecrated by Dr Fraser, Bishop of Manchester in 1881. The first vicar was William Popplewell, who stayed at All Souls until 1923. The brothers commissioned another Paley and Austin church, St Saviour’s, which was sadly demolished in 1975.

Architecture

All Souls is very large for a parish church. It is built in locally made brick and dressed with Longridge sandstone. The interior is dressed with Stourton stone. All Souls is built in a medieval style and has a character more reminiscent with the early nineteenth century. The tower is 36 metres tall topped with crenellations and pinnacles and contains 8 bells made by Taylor of Loughborough in 1880. The tower used to carry a weather vane dated 1880. It was blown off in the storm of 1952 and was not replaced.

The most notable feature of All Souls is the unobstructed view of the chancel from the nave. The Greenhalgh brothers wanted everyone to be able to see and hear the vicar and see all the features of the church. He also wanted all the pews to be available free of charge to all so there are no name plates on them. Greenhalgh also wanted the congregation to be comfortable so he stipulated that there should be no draughts. Victorian churches were often cold, draughty and damp so the congregation must have appreciated this. To give an unobstructed view, the nave and aisles had to be free from pillars. This presented quite a challenge to Paley and Austin and they came up with a design for one on the widest unsupported parish churches in England measuring 16 metres. The nave is divided into six bays, or vertical divisions, each containing a window with three lights. The wall shafts at the side of each window rise up to an impressive timber roof of the king post construction- the large vertical post rising from the horizontal roof truss to the apex-which stops the very long roof truss from sagging.

The Interior

Paley and Austin were also responsible for the interior fittings. It is unusual that it survives intact. Behind the altar is a stone screen called a reredos carrying the text of the Ten Commandments, the Lord’s Prayer and the Creed.

The pews in the chancel were to seat the choir, called choir stalls, which would, along with the clergy, dress in their vestments, in the vestry.

The Organ was built by Isaac Abbott of Leeds in about 1880, housed in a case of Danzig oak, which was designed by Paley and Austin.

The altar, communion rails, credence table, pulpit and lectern are oak and designed by Paley and Austin. They also designed the east windows, which feature scenes from the New Testament, and were made by Clayton and Bell. They were dedicated to the memory of Nathaniel Greenhalgh.

The windows in the east of the chancel aisles contain the figures of Faith and Hope, made by Burlison and Grylls in 1887 and paid for by the parishioners as thanks to the Greenhalgh brothers.

The pews in the nave are made from pitch pine, and at the south side, there are some fine raised pews where the church wardens sat.

Monuments

Paley and Austin also designed a fine war memorial to commemorate the 46 parishioners who died and 196 who served in the First World War.

Close by is an alabaster wall tablet commemorating Thomas Greenhalgh. He left £1350 to pay for coal and clothing for the poor of the parish, along with the same sum to pay for the insurance, renewals and repair of the church and school. He also left £350 to pay for hats for the little singers at the annual sermon.

On the south side of the nave is a wall tablet to the memory of William Popplewell, the long-serving first vicar and his wife, erected by their daughter.

Changes

Most of the interior of All Souls remains unchanged. Perhaps the greatest loss is a fine series of stained glass panels in the west tower depicting the six days of the Creation. They were made by Shrigley and Hunt and were sadly vandalised and removed in the 1970s. A few later additions to the church were made, such as the oak screens in the chancel behind the choir stalls, added in 1935. The only other significant change was the removal of the railings, which probably happened during the Second World War.