Photo-a-Day  (Monday, 13th February, 2012)

And those things that are bent, shall be made straight

Thankyou Brian,in years to come,photographs like this will be treasured as part of our social history. The photographers of the early the early years could never have imagined that their photos.,
Would be so important in our understanding , and appreciation of times past.

Be nice to go up the scaffolding to get a birds eye view of Scholes.

One lad did that when they had St Wilfs in Standish scafolded

will be strange seeing the tower straight after years of looking at it on the lean

Fred Dibnah wouldn't have needed all that scaffolding. Just a rope and a Bosun's chair

The lamp post has a sympathetic list,Brian.

Mick, in years gone by when scaffolding was up for remedial work to pointing etc, the local scallies would climb up the scaffold and alter the time of the clock, noticed they have placed iron sheeting around the base, possibly to deter them this time.

i wonder who is paying for this.

Cyril - sadly, the sheeting is necessary to deter metal thieves. The insurance company will not pay out on a claim for metal theft on a church where scaffolding has been erected.
les - English Heritage is paying a huge chunk of the costs through Lottery funding - the rest is being put up by parishioners... and locals who value their heritage. I'm sure the Vicar would welcome your contribution to the fund.

Rev David - where is your parish - you seem to be very knowledgeable.

Preserving our heritage in this way is vitally important. What a pity the same care wasn't implemented in regards to 'old' Wigan Town hall...

Maggie - I'm at the grand-daughter church of St Cath's - at St Mary's, Lower Ince.

Hello Rev David - I was born very close to St Cat's and went to Sunday School there hence the interest. I don't understand St Mary's being the grand-daughter church. Would you please explain it to me.

As Wigan grew in the 19th century new parishes were established - with areas being carved out of the original parishes - in the case of most of Wigan, from All Saints. With further growth, those areas were divided again - and again. An offspring church is usually referred to as a 'daughter' church. St Mary's (1888) is a daughter church of Christ Church (1864), which is in turn a daughter church of St Cath's (built in 1841, but only being established as a Parish Church in 1864). Thus Christ Church was 'mother church' to St Mary's, and St Cath's is 'grandmother church' to St Mary's.

Hello Rev David so Is Christ Church the same church that I know as Ince Parish near the train station at Hr. Ince.

I don't know why it's known as 'Ince Parish', and even worse, 'Parish Church' - it's proper title is Ince-in-Makerfield, Christ Church - just as St Mary's title is Ince-in-Makerfield, St Mary. Both are Parish Churches in Ince. In most towns where daughter churches have grown up post Industrial Revolution (and I think in most of Wigan) if you say 'the Parish Church', you are usually referring to the historic Parish Church of the town - in our case, All Saints.

Our Vicar is very knowledgeable Maggie,could av bin on Mastermind or even Pointless.

Hello Hen (what is that short for) - Does he every do quiz nights - many years ago I went to a quiz at St Mary's.

Hi Maggie,a sort of play on words,comes thro writing a little tongue in cheek column in our parish mag.each month.and a protection from receiving letters of litigation

we have had quiz nights in the past,but we didnt let strangers in incase they won,Ha

Hi Rev David, my memory of St Mary's School dates back to January 1946 when I started school there as a 5 year old. It had scrubbed wooden floors, an open hearth fire and a loudspeaker which delivered school radio programmes and the occasional "pop" record (Pedro the Fisherman I recall). After that I ended up at St Catharines where I remember the date on the outside of the building was 1834, some years before the church was built it appears.

I put the hoist up on this project you would not believe it but half way up the church there was a peice of Perspex across the big crack in stone work