The Catholic Church of St Oswald and St Edmund Arrowsmith is located on Liverpool Road in Ashton-in-Makerfield, Greater Manchester, England.

Building

The first Catholic church on the site was built in 1822. The old church was demolished and the foundation stone of the new building was laid in 1925.

Catholic Church of St Oswald and St Edmund Arrowsmith

The present church was constructed in the Romanesque style and completed in 1930, with the architect being J. K. Brocklesby. The bell tower, on the right of the facade is a notable landmark with its green copper pyramid roof that can be seen on the drive into Ashton from Stubshaw Cross. The interior has two saucer domes and an apse. The altar itself has marble flooring and four red carpets. It has four seats either side for the Altar servers to be seated. At the back of the altar is the Tabernacle, and eight candles. Above the altar are stained glass windows of saints designed by Harry Clarke.

Catholic Church of St Oswald and St Edmund Arrowsmith

The presbytery and the church gates, which both date from 1822, are also Grade II Listed.

Catholic Church of St Oswald and St Edmund Arrowsmith

Nikolaus Pevsner described the church as "totally outdated" but "ambitious" and "impressive".

Relic

The church houses a holy relic, the hand of St Edmund Arrowsmith, who was one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.

Parish priests

Canon James O'Meara 1896–1946

Fr John Joseph McLaughlin 1946–1950

Canon Robert Wilfrid Meagher 1950–1970

Canon Francis J Ripley 1970–1991

Fr Brian Newns 1991–2019

Fr John Gorman 2019–

See also

Listed buildings in Ashton-in-Makerfield

References

Roman Catholic churches in Greater Manchester

Buildings and structures in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan

Ashton-in-Makerfield

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Liverpool

English churches dedicated to St Edmund