The Monastery of St. Francis and Gorton Monastery Trust

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.

1861-1863

Franciscans come to Gorton and begin building Friary.

1963-1872

E W Pugin’s masterpiece of St. Francis Church & Friary built as a Parish Church and Franciscan training centre.

1872-1960's

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.

1970's

Redevelopment of area and demolition of surrounding terraced housing led to re-location of population and dwindling church numbers.

Late 1980's

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.

1989

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

Flat scheme fails, buildings abandoned and receivers appointed.

1993 onwards

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

The Monastery of St. Francis & Gorton Trust formed as Building Preservation Trust by a group of volunteers.

1997

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

The Monastery Trust begins its unique work delivering local education, training, enterprise, arts, health, restorative justice, cultural and community projects in Gorton.

July 2002

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

The £1.8 million (European Regional Development Fund) matched funding is granted at last.

June 2004

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

After a particularly wet summer building deteriorates further. The interior friary floors collapse adding further costs to the scheme.

October/
November
2004

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

Total cost of delivering the Pugin centre scheme has risen by £1 million from £6 million to almost £7 million.

January 2005

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

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

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.

19th April 2005

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

Work begins on clearing the site ready for restoration to start in August 2005.

17th October 2005

The Trust office moves to 'The Angels' on Endcott Close. The building was previously All Saints school.

April 2006

The Story of the Monastery shown on national TV
in “Passion for Churches” a 30 minute BBC2 documentary.

May-September 2006

Friary completely rebuilt from the inside out. Church restoration continues. Madonna and other valuable artefacts returned.

October 2006

The Crucifix returns home with grateful thanks to London Art Dealer Patricia Wengraf.

February 2007

Royal visit of HRH The Prince of Wales and HRH The Duchess of Cornwall who were impressed with the Heritage and Craft Skills being employed on the project and they expressed their good wishes and continued support for the work of the Trust.

March 2007

English Heritage and the North West Development Agency gave extra grants to enable the kitchens, café and painting of the church to be completed.

June 2007

“The Monastery” opens for business hosting conferences, meetings and events as well as wedding receptions, concerts and community celebrations.

Sir Howard Bernstein and Sir Richard Leese of Manchester City Council host our first ever corporate event, A Midsummer Night’s Feast.

Elaine Griffiths was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s

July 2007

BBC Songs of Praise tells the story of the restoration featuring Aled Jones, Heather Small, Manchester Cathedral choir and our very own Gorton Voice Choir and John Griffiths.

August 2007

Planning permission for the Monastery Village residential scheme on the adjacent English Partnerships site is approved. The Prince’s Foundation for the Built Environment set extremely high design and eco standards for this prestigious development.

September 2007

Development work begins on the new “Skills Centre”that will complete the Monastery complex creating a new front wing to the friary and a second threestorey courtyard as originally intended by Pugin in the 1860s. Fundraising towards the ‘missing million’ for the conservation of the High Altar, Lady Altar, Statues, Angels and other works of art continues.

The Future

The Trust is looking forward to hosting events for our corporate, cultural and community friends and supporters.

Our dedicated Events Co-ordinators will discuss every detail with you to guarantee that you have the ultimate culinary and atmospheric experience at The Monastery.

For more information on Conferences, Events, Tours and the work of the Trust please contact us on 0161 223 3211 or email enquiries@themonastery.co.uk or write to us at The Monastery, Gorton Lane, Gorton, Manchester M12 5WF or visit our web site www.themonastery.co.uk

Our building is owned by a charity ‘The Monastery of St Francis & Gorton Trust’ and is operated by our wholly owned trading company ‘The Monastery Manchester’. All proceeds from our events and activities are donated to the Trust.

This page was last edited on Monday, 22th December 2008

Registered Charity No:1061457