St Ann's Church

St Ann's Roman Catholic Church on Burlington Street was opened in 1859 replacing a temporary chapel opened in 1852.

Much of the money for the building of the church was raised by Father William Crombleholme but, as Ashton fell victim to the effects of the "Cotton Famine", he was left with huge debts. The "Murphy Riots" of 1868 had resulted in considerable damage being done to the building, adding to the financial disaster.

There was no way the impoverished parishioners could raise the money needed, so in 1873, Father Crombleholme was given permission by the bishop to go on a five-year missionary tour of America to raise funds. Sadly, he died during his second missionary trip in 1884.

It was intended that the church should have a tower and spire (on the right hand corner, as seen in the photo) but the lack of money meant that these were never built. In 2003 the parish was amalgamated with that of neighbouring St Mary's when that church was demolished.

See Google Aerial View of this location.
See LiveSearch Birds Eye View of this location.