New bishop of Stockport visits St Hilda's Mission Church

St Hilda’s Mission Church, which opened in 1901, has been restored, refreshed, repainted and pointed outside.

It has also been repainted inside, carpeted and the floors brought back to the original colour – providing a large open space for community use.

Originally, St Hilda’s had been used by the Ship Canal company to allow the workers to worship on a Sunday.

The Bishop with Rev Robert Icke and St Hilda's Choir

The conditions of the sale were that the building would be used for the celebration of divine service and that it might be used as a school for the education of children and adults of the labouring, manufacturing and other poorer classes in the parish.

Reverend Robert Icke said: “A Church is not just about the building, from the beginning St Hilda’s success and continuity is concerned with the people who have worshipped, worked and gathered together within its walls.”

A Sunday School was established at St Hilda’s from early days and due to the numbers growing after the first world war, in 1930 the accommodation was deemed insufficient so an extension was suggested.

In 1932 there was an average attendance at St Hilda’s Sunday School of over 230 children each week, plus eleven males and twenty-two female teachers.

The Bishop with Rev Robert Icke with 120th anniversary plaque

The choir has been one of St Hilda’s greatest assets, and throughout the 20th century it boasted a ‘strong choral tradition’.

In the 1950s the church was graced with an electric organ.

St Hilda’s Mission Church is available for hiring and already hosts The Scouts and Cubs, The History Society, VIPRA and many weekly luncheon activities.

The 120th anniversary plaque.