Cross Street Chapel
Encyclopedia
Cross Street Chapel is a Unitarian
church in Manchester
, England
, famous in civic and national life for its contributions to piety and civil society
. Jane Barraclough currently serves as minister at Cross Street, having been inducted in September 2008. It is a member of the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches
, the umbrella organisation for British Unitarians.
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The Act of Uniformity 1662
, regulated the style of worship
in the Church of England
. However, many clergy
rejected the restrictions, including Rev. Henry Newcome
who established his own congregation that same year. The Dissenters' Meeting House was opened in 1694 and holds a special place in the growth of nonconformism
within the city.
mob in 1715, rebuilt and destroyed during a World War II
air raid
in December 1940. A new building was constructed in 1959 and the present structure dates from 1997. The Gaskell Room of the new building houses a collection of memorabilia of novelist Elizabeth Gaskell
.
Unitarianism
Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being....
church in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, famous in civic and national life for its contributions to piety and civil society
Civil society
Civil society is composed of the totality of many voluntary social relationships, civic and social organizations, and institutions that form the basis of a functioning society, as distinct from the force-backed structures of a state , the commercial institutions of the market, and private criminal...
. Jane Barraclough currently serves as minister at Cross Street, having been inducted in September 2008. It is a member of the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches
General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches
The General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches is the umbrella organisation for Unitarian, Free Christian and other liberal religious congregations in the United Kingdom. It was formed in 1928, with denominational roots going back to the Great Ejection of 1662...
, the umbrella organisation for British Unitarians.
History
Act of Uniformity 1662
The Act of Uniformity was an Act of the Parliament of England, 13&14 Ch.2 c. 4 ,The '16 Charles II c. 2' nomenclature is reference to the statute book of the numbered year of the reign of the named King in the stated chapter...
, regulated the style of worship
Worship
Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. The word is derived from the Old English worthscipe, meaning worthiness or worth-ship — to give, at its simplest, worth to something, for example, Christian worship.Evelyn Underhill defines worship thus: "The absolute...
in the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
. However, many clergy
Clergy
Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional....
rejected the restrictions, including Rev. Henry Newcome
Henry Newcome
-Life:He was the fourth son of Stephen Newcome, rector of Caldicote, Huntingdonshire. He was born at Caldicote, and baptised on27 Nov. 1627. His mother was Rose, daughter of Henry Williamson, B. D. ,...
who established his own congregation that same year. The Dissenters' Meeting House was opened in 1694 and holds a special place in the growth of nonconformism
Nonconformism
Nonconformity is the refusal to "conform" to, or follow, the governance and usages of the Church of England by the Protestant Christians of England and Wales.- Origins and use:...
within the city.
The Chapel
The building was renamed the Cross Street Chapel and became a Unitarian meeting-house c.1761. It was wrecked by a JacobiteJacobitism
Jacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...
mob in 1715, rebuilt and destroyed during a World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
air raid
Airstrike
An air strike is an attack on a specific objective by military aircraft during an offensive mission. Air strikes are commonly delivered from aircraft such as fighters, bombers, ground attack aircraft, attack helicopters, and others...
in December 1940. A new building was constructed in 1959 and the present structure dates from 1997. The Gaskell Room of the new building houses a collection of memorabilia of novelist Elizabeth Gaskell
Elizabeth Gaskell
Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell, née Stevenson , often referred to simply as Mrs Gaskell, was a British novelist and short story writer during the Victorian era...
.
Famous ministry and congregation
- William FairbairnWilliam FairbairnSir William Fairbairn, 1st Baronet was a Scottish civil engineer, structural engineer and shipbuilder.-Early career:...
- Elizabeth GaskellElizabeth GaskellElizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell, née Stevenson , often referred to simply as Mrs Gaskell, was a British novelist and short story writer during the Victorian era...
- William GaskellWilliam GaskellThe Reverend William Gaskell was an English Unitarian minister, charity worker and pioneer in the education of the working class...
- James HeywoodBenjamin HeywoodSir Benjamin Heywood, 1st Baronet FRS was an English banker and philanthropist.Born in St Ann's Square, Manchester, grandson of Thomas Percival, son of Nathaniel Heywood and Ann Percival, and brother to Thomas Heywood and James Heywood...
- Eaton HodgkinsonEaton HodgkinsonEaton A. Hodgkinson was an English engineer, a pioneer of the application of mathematics to problems of structural design.-Early life:...
- Henry NewcomeHenry Newcome-Life:He was the fourth son of Stephen Newcome, rector of Caldicote, Huntingdonshire. He was born at Caldicote, and baptised on27 Nov. 1627. His mother was Rose, daughter of Henry Williamson, B. D. ,...
- John Henry ReynoldsJohn Henry Reynolds (educator)John Henry Reynolds was a British educationist and administrator, particularly associated with the development of the Manchester educational institution that was to go on to become UMIST.-Life:...
- Thomas WorthingtonThomas Worthington (architect)Thomas Worthington was a 19th-century English architect, particularly associated with public buildings in and around Manchester.-Early life:...