Holy Trinity & Christ Church et al, Stalybridge

This church stands on the east side of Trinity St and it is adjacent to the former Victoria Market Hall on the opposite side of Corporation St. The foundation stone was laid on Easter Day 1851 and it was completed in 1852. The bells were installed in 1853. It was built in the Perpendicular style and the architect was Edwin Hugh Shellard (1815-1885) of Manchester. It was built of snecked stone with a slate roof. Improvements to the church were made in 1931 and the architect was Percy Howard of Manchester.

Holy Trinity Church is part of a notable group of features on Trinity St that includes the Victoria Market Hall, Public Library, War Memorial and a bronze statue of Jack Judge.

Victoria Market Hall, now Stalybridge Civic Hall
This indoor market hall was built in 1866/68 by Amos Lee¹. It is 9 bays wide by 13 bays long and it is brick built on ashlar stone foundations with a clock tower above the stone-faced main entrance on Trinity St. The interior retains its stone-flagged floor and locally made cast-iron columns support three parallel-pitched roofs. There are remnants of small interior shop units around the perimeter. During 2024/25 the hall was refurbished and then reopened as the Stalybridge Civic Hall.

Astley Cheetham Public Library and Art Gallery & Post Office
Built 9 Oct 1897-16 Oct 1901. The architect for the library was James Medland Taylor (1834-1909) of Manchester and the contractor was Isaac Gould of Leeds. The Post Office was designed by H M Office of Works.

The library building is two-storeys high and six-bays wide. The matching post-office building to the left is two-storeys high and three-bays wide. Both buildings are in the Jacobean Revival style with dressed stone to the ground floor, brick to the first floor and clay-tile roofs.

War Memorial
The sculptor was Ferdinand Victor Blundstone (1882–1951) who was born in Switzerland and first studied art at Ashton-under-Lyne. The memorial is in two segments on either side of Trinity St. The curved walls terminate with a winged angelic figure at one end and a lion couchant at the other end. To the east the winged angelic figure is supporting a dying sailor and to the west a dying soldier.

Statue of Jack Judge
This bronze statue of Jack Judge (born John Judge, 1872-1938) stands outside the Civic Hall and it was made by Escar UK Bronze of Langham, Colchester. It shows Jack seated on a granite rock with a Great War soldier looking over his shoulder. He was inspired to compose the famous marching song, ‘It’s a long way to Tipperary’. Jack is holding a sheet of music while the soldier is playing his mouth organ.

During the evening of the 31 Jan 1912, Jack performed the song, with his brother Ted, at the Grand Theatre on Corporation St for the very first time. Later, the theatre was converted into a cinema and re-named the Hippodrome Theatre and then it became a bingo club. By 1964 only the façade remained and this is still extant but much altered.

Victoria Market Hall, now Stalybridge Civic Hall.

Astley Cheetham Public Library and Art Gallery & Post Office, early 20th century.

In this view the Post Office is at the far end of the building.

The segment of the war mmorial on the east side of Trinity St showing the winged angelic figure supporting a dying sailor to the right and a lion couchant to the left.

The river Tame flows between the War Memorial and the Post Office and Victoria Bridge carries Trinity St over the river. It was built in 1867 to link the southern part of Stalybridge to the northern part.

It is listed Grade II, List Entry No. 1356470.

The winged anglic figure on the east side of Trinity St supporting a dying sailor.

The lion couchant on the east side of Trinity St.

Statue of Jack Judge and a Great War soldier outside Stalybridge Civic Hall.

Stalybridge Town Hall viewed from Trinity St, 1950s.

The Waterloo Rd/Trinity St portico of the Town Hall is to the left and the winged angelic figure of the War Memorial on the east side of Trinity St is to the right.

The Town Hall was built in 1831 and it was modified in 1834 and 1882/83.

The Waterloo Rd/Trinity St portico of the former Stalybridge Town Hall².

Following the creation of Tameside Metropolitan Borough in 1974 the Town Hall became redundant and dilapidated. Later, work started on its demolition but a fire destroyed much of what was left in Jun 1989. In spite of this, the portico was saved and the area behind it was turned into a garden.

It is listed Grade II, List Entry No. 1067987.