FROM THE VIDEO ARCHIVES: ST ANDREWS CHURCH, ECCLES PART 1 - WINDOWS & ANGELS

If you take a look inside you will see the breathtaking beauty of the stained glass windows made by arguably the finest exponents of their art in this country, plus a myriad of other local details relating to the history of the area, including a poignant reminder of a disaster which took place in 1883 which claimed the lives of 183 children. 

The parish church of Eccles was St Mary's but with the population of Eccles growing, the Rev Pitcairn organised local professionals and businessmen to set up a building fund under the honorary treasureship of Henry Boddington, Chairman of Boddington's Brewery, to raise money to build a new church designed by Herbert Tijou. 

They raised £5000, but when the church opened in 1879 just over £2000 remained owing on the cost of the building. St Andrew's was therefore built not only without a tower (eventually added in 1889) but also without the planned interior decoration. 

This caused one local journalist to describe the building as, "light, but a little too monotonous to be quite cheerful." 

Behind the altar are the East windows designed by Charles Eamer Kempe, arguably the finest stained glass window maker in England. His work can be seen in the cathedrals in York, Hereford, Chester and Gloucester, and here in Eccles are three outstanding examples. 

There are three East windows, and they depict scenes from Jesus' life. They were designed and made in 1886. 

Kempe's "signature", a shield depicting three wheat sheaves, can be seen at the bottom of the window on the north side of the altar. 

This window is in memory of Henry Boddington of Boddington's Brewery, honorary treasurer of the building fund which raised the money to build the church, and one of many local business and professional men to contribute generously to the building fund. The tops of the three windows contain some fine examples of heraldry. 

Underneath these windows is the reredos (wood carving), which depicts the Last Supper, and was erected to celebrate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1898. 

One curiosity of this carving is that it shows Judas Iscariot sat at the front of the table clutching his bag of silver as opposed to the Da Vinci painting where he is shown stood with the other disciples. 

The magnificent church organ was installed in 1883. It was rebuilt and enlarged after World War II as a memorial to those servicemen from the parish who died in the war. 

Mr Alan Cooper - who kindly showed me around the church - explained that his brother, who was a choirboy at the church, sadly died in the Battle of the Atlantic. A brass memorial to the men can now be seen fixed to the organ. 

On the North wall are several windows dedicated to men from the church and parish who fell in the Great War. One is dedicated to these men, the other is to an ex-choirboy Arthur Handley Clatyon, who was killed at the battle of Loos in 1915 aged just 23. 

This is an incredible window which on the left depicts young Arthur dead on the battlefield at Loos in full miltary outfit (complete with mud on his boots!) whilst the corresponding window to the right depicts Arthur handing his sword to God and receiving his crown of glory. 

Arthur's family who lived in Ellesmere Park and who attended the church paid for the window. 

The other war memorial window is for the men of the church and parish who fell in the Great War and depicts St Michael and St Gabriel, whilst in between these widows is large brass plaque which lists the names of each man from the parish who died in the war, some 151 names. 

High on the church walls are the angel 'corbels'. These stone statues between the windows on the north and side aisles of the church are of individual design and include an angel holding a medal, the Khedive's Star, in memory of a soldier who died in the 1881 Egyptian Campaign. There is also an angel holding a baby in memory of a baby boy, and an angel with a wreath of daisies on her head in memory of a baby girl called Margaret. Other angels hold a variety of musical instruments. 

The last of the angel corbels on this side of the church portrays an angel holding a dead child, who is in turn clutching a toy Noah's ark. This corbel was bought by the children of the Sunday school to commemorate 183 children who died in an accident in "The Victoria Hall Disaster" in a theatre in Sunderland in 1883. 

On the 6th June, 1883, at The Victoria Hall in Sunderland an afternoon matinee was held for local children. Panic broke out when several children were awarded free prizes and a rush for the stage took place. The only emergency exit door was faulty, and 183 children aged between 3-14 were tragically trampled to death or suffocated in the crush. 

Finally we come to the West windows, designed by the company of Shrigley and Hunter of Preston, again amonst the finest stained glass manufacturers in Britain. 

These window was installed in 1916 in the middle of World War I. It shows eight Christian soldiers: St Martin, St Alban, Longinus, St Oswald, St Edwin, Constantine, St George, and St Edmund. This window also has some interesting examples of heraldry in its top section. 

I was totally fascinated by my tour of this church which holds some truly hidden gems and is on our door step yet almost ignored by the general public, I would urge you to call in this church and marvel at the beauty inside. 

The church has a cafe each Friday morning from 10.00am - 12.00 noon and 12.45 -230pm so please try and call in. 

In the next episode of St Andrew's church we will take a journey up the bell tower and look out over Eccles whilst discovering even more hidden gems.

This article first appeared on SalfordOnline on the 27th of February 2012, it is lovingly republished here courtesy of local Gargoyle and friend to hedgehogs, Tony Flynn. Thanks to young Tom Rodgers and Callum Doolan for the Video. Photo by Bill Boden.