Gorton Monastery

About

The Church and Friary of St Francis, known locally as Gorton Monastery, is a Grade II* listed former Franciscan friary on Gorton Lane in Gorton, an area of Manchester, England. It was designed by the Victorian architect Edward Welby Pugin and built between 1866 and 1872. Gorton Monastery is a noted example of Gothic Revival architecture. The building ceased to be used for Christian worship in 1989 and fell derelict for many years. Following a restoration programme, it reopened in 2007 and now operates as a secular events venue and as a community and heritage space.

History: In 1861 the then Bishop of Salford, Herbert Vaughan, invited a Belgian community of Recollects, a branch of the Franciscan Order of Friars Minor, to come to Manchester and found a new church. The Franciscans arrived in Gorton in December 1861 and began work on a new friary. The construction lasted from 1863 to 1867, and most of the building work was done by the friars themselves, with a brother acting as clerk of works. The noted architect Edward Welby Pugin (1834–1875) was appointed to design the new monastery church. Pugin was the son of the celebrated architect Augustus Pugin, who championed the revival of...