14 C O N T E X T 1 0 5 : J U LY 2 0 0 8 age, which also included St Matthew’s and St James’ Liverpool, St Peter’s Bolton, St Thomas’ Bolton, The Saviour Bolton (demolished in 1975) and St Mary Dalton-in-Furness. The architects’ brief was to design a church without obstructions, where everyone could see and hear, and in which there would be no uncomfortable draughts. The result is a spectacular aisleless nave of 52ft (16m) wide and 86ft (26m) long. The scale of the interior provokes a response from every visitor. The large and high decorated windows provide plenty of light, although Bolton’s climate does not always provide the sunshine. PETER AIERS New life for All Souls All Souls, Bolton, will find a new life providing local services, community meeting space, education, heritage interpretation, health services and place for local businesses. After the last parish service on 28 December 1986, this historic building became lost to the surrounding community and suffered the consequences of vandalism and neglect.The Churches ConservationTrust (CCT) had the Grade II* listed building vested with it in 1987. It set about making the building wind and watertight, eradicating dry rot and repointing. Since then the CCT has cared for the building by ensuring that it remains weathertight, regularly maintaining the building, fixing the leaks caused by the regular lead thefts and cleaning away the graffiti. However, due to the position of the building in the heart of the Crompton ward of Bolton, it has never been on any regular tourist route and so managed to attract only around four visitors a year. As a result of the low visitor numbers and general interest from the public, the church has never seen a large investment from the CCT as it was not a priority. This is not to say that the building is of no significance or lacks that certain wow factor. Built in 1878/79, the church was commissioned by Thomas Greenhalgh, a local mill owner. The building was built in the memory of his brother Nathaniel, who died in 1877. These two brothers, who made their fortune in the cotton industry of Bolton, and were evangelical Anglicans. The building of a church would have been a simple decision for them as they would have strongly believed in the social and moral benefits of a church in the community. The architects, Paley and Austin, were commissioned to design the church to a very specific brief provided by the brothers. Paley and Austin, who have been defined by Nikolaus Pevsner as ‘the best firm of gothicists in the north of England’, were indeed prolific across the region. In 1867/8 Edward Graham Paley was joined by Hubert James Austin to form a partnership which would last 12 years in this form. Austin joined Paley from the office of Sir George Gilbert Scott. All Souls was built during the practice’s golden Right: Despite being a prominent landmark, the church has been attracting only about four visitors a year. Far right and below: Paley and Austin designed a spectacular aisleless nave.
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