No. 69 of 112 · Astley Bridge · Bolton
Holy Infant and St Anthony, Astley Bridge
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R.C. parish church of The Holy Infant and St. Anthony · philandju · CC BY-SA 2.0
Sources
Taking Stock: building dates, architect attribution, roof and stained glass. https://taking-stock.org.uk/building/bolton-the-holy-infant-and-st-anthony/ Official parish website confirms the church serves Astley Bridge. https://www.holyinfant.co.uk/ The survey identifies the original architect only as Mr Bromley. Statutory listing and current access have not been separately checked.
History & description
Holy Infant and St Anthony in Astley Bridge dates from 1902. The Catholic mission began in 1877 with a two-storey church-school, where the worship space was upstairs. The present red-brick church replaced that arrangement and was planned for a congregation of about 600.
Architecture and additions
Taking Stock attributes the design to an architect recorded as Mr Bromley. Stone dressings, grouped lancet windows and a timber hammerbeam roof give the compact building its Gothic character. Greenhalgh & Williams added the porch and baptistery in 1969.
Stained glass and furnishings
The survey records original carved oak sanctuary furniture and a war memorial Pieta from 1925. Philip Brown supplied striking semi-abstract stained glass in 1964; further figurative windows by Charles Lightfoot & Sons followed in 1969. These later windows add a distinct twentieth-century layer to the Victorian-style interior.
Map position: church point or building centre from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Photograph: R.C. parish church of The Holy Infant and St. Anthony - geograph.org.uk - 7135774.jpg by philandju, via Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 2.0. Shown at reduced size; no other alterations.
R.C. parish church of The Holy Infant and St. Anthony · philandju · CC BY-SA 2.0
