History
​All Saints is one of the many “Waterloo” churches built as an expression of national thanksgiving for victory at the battle of Waterloo in 1815.The £1,000,000 set aside in 1818, and further enhanced by £500,000, was part of the Government’s strategy to counteract the possibility of political unrest sparked by the industrial revolution, culminating in the “Peterloo” massacre in Manchester in 1819.The decision to build at Stand, an open pastoral area at the time, was considered necessary to divide the enormous parish of St.Mary Prestwich as the local population was growing year by year. In 1821, the Parish of Prestwich had a population of 14,000, but between 1826 and 1926 a further 32 churches were built in the old Parish which, by 1931, had a population of 205,000.Sir John Soane, a distinguished London architect, was approached in 1821 to prepare designs for the church to cost no more than £12,000 and seating some 1800 people: this he found to be impractical and the job was passed to the young Charles Barry and the cost limit raised to £20,000. The foundation stone was laid on 3 August 1821 and the Bishop of Chester consecrated the church for worship on 8th September 1826.
Consecration of Stand Church
8th September 1826
The Foundation Stone for All Saints Standwas laid by the Earl of Wilton on 8thAugust 1822. 4 years later the church was built and was consecrated by CharlesJames , Bishop of Chester as the Dioceseof Manchester did not come into existence until 1847. However, it was attended by clergy from all over the Manchester area including James Lyon, Rector of Prestwich from which parish All Saints Stand emerged. The full list of attendees can be found in the Bicentenary Booklet "All Saints Stand1826 -2026."On the day of Consecration, Rev. James Lyon of Prestwich nominated the Rev. Thomas Corser (Curate of Prestwich) to be Stipendiary Curate of Stand. Mr. Corser went on to marry one of Rev Lyon's daughters and the Lyon coat of arms can be seen in the East window. Rev Corser did not become Rector of Stand until 1847.The church was designed to hold 1858 persons with over nine hundred Free Sittings. People could pay for their own pew in those far off days and pew rents brought in quite a tidy income £342 per annum. At the very first service on the 10th September, a crack was heard in the roof and this caused panic amongst the congregation thinking that the church was about to collapse. They rushed for the doors though one man escaped via a window. The men seemed to better at this than the women. The building was inspected later and declared to be perfectly safe.
Ian Orrell