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The Story
So Far
There are three main chapters in the story of Gorton Monastery.
The first chapter covering the period from 1861
and the arrival in Gorton of the Franciscans, to 1989 and their
departure.
See also History of The
Monastery
The second chapter, the tragic fall in to neglect
of the building.
Chapter three, the efforts of the Trust to secure
its restoration.
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1861-1863 |
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Franciscans come to Gorton
and begin building Friary. |
1963-1872 |
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E W Pugin’s masterpiece of
St. Francis Church & Friary built as a Parish Church and Franciscan
training centre. |
1872-1960's |
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Gorton Monastery’s heyday – serving
the needs of local people and providing 3 schools, parish hall, youth
clubs, theatre and music groups, choirs, brass bands as well as being
the social and spiritual focus of the community.
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1970's |
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Redevelopment of area and demolition
of surrounding terraced housing led to re-location of population
and dwindling church numbers. |
Late
1980's |
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English Heritage grant of approximate
£80,000
to help repair the roof of the Grade II Church on the back of major
local fundraising campaign.
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1989 |
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Only 6 elderly Friars remain. In
1989 Church closed and sold to property developers who stripped out
the Church for conversion into flats. |
1991-1993 |
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Flat scheme fails, buildings abandoned
and receivers appointed. |
1993
onwards |
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Church and Friary left unprotected.
Vandals destroy altars. Lead, marble and anything left of value stolen.
Status of buildings then upgraded to Grade II*. |
1996 |
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The Monastery of St. Francis & Gorton
Trust formed as Building Preservation Trust by a group of volunteers. |
1997 |
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Gorton
Monastery placed on World Monuments Fund Watch List of 100 Most
Endangered Sites in the World alongside Pompeii, Taj Mahal and
Valley of the Kings.
Buildings donated to the Trust for £1 by Royal Bank of
Scotland. Major grant applications and fundraising begin. |
1998 |
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The Monastery Trust begins its unique
work delivering local education, training, enterprise, arts, health,
restorative justice, cultural and community projects in Gorton. |
July
2002 |
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The Trust offered almost £4
million of grant support from the Heritage Lottery Fund, English
Heritage, The Architectural Heritage Fund and other Trusts. |
April/May
2004 |
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The £1.8 million (European
Regional Development Fund) matched funding is granted at last. |
June
2004 |
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The detailed planning and procurement
process begins and costs of the scheme are updated to allow for increased
inflation costs during the two year delay. |
Summer/
Autumn 2004 |
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After a particularly wet summer
building deteriorates further. The interior friary floors collapse
adding further costs to the scheme. |
October/
November
2004 |
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Ongoing dialogue and negotiation
between Trust's professional team, HLF, English heritage and the
European Funding team at New East Manchester, the regeneration
company for our area. All parties attempting to find the right
solution without compromising on the quality of the scheme. |
December
2004 |
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Total cost of delivering the Pugin
centre scheme has risen by £1 million from £6 million
to almost £7 million. |
January
2005 |
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The Trust has to Reduce scheme
and costs by £1 million without jeopardising business case,
viability and heritage quality and write a revised Business Plan
for the reduced scheme and demonstrate that the buildings will
be well used once restored. |
February/March
2005 |
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Trust team starts intense work on
reduced scheme design, new costings and revised business plan. Trust
contacts supporters, local businesses and interested parties asking
for their letters of support. |
March
2005 |
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After over 8 years of campaigning
work the Monastery is at risk once again, if the Trust can not prove
that the buildings will be well used, then our heritage grants could
be withdrawn.
Monastery 'Month of Prayer' begins with
a small prayer service hosted by Reverend David Gray.
The building opens every afternoon between 3.00
- 4.00 p.m. (hosted by Kath North and the Monastery friends) from
Palm Sunday up to Sunday 24th April. |
19th
April 2005 |
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The Monastery Trust is delighted
to announce that, after months of uncertainty, they have received
the go ahead from the Heritage Lottery Fund( HLF) so the restoration
can now begin.
The Heritage Lottery Fund gave their formal approval
to the Trust's revised plans yesterday so that funding can be released
and work can now begin. Contractors will be appointed soon and
work will start on site before the end of the year. |
25th July
2005 |
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Work begins on clearing the site
ready for restoration to start in August 2005.
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17th October
2005 |
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The Trust office moves to 'The Angels'
on Endcott Close. The building was previously All Saints school.
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