St. Wilfrid's Roman Catholic Church - Hulme The Neo-Gothic Church
and Presbytery were designed Augustus Welby Pugin, the
father of Edward Pugin who was responsible for the
Gorton Monastery.
According to the Manchester 2002 website, "In late 1990 the church was deconsecrated and the smaller congregation was to be served by the former social club of St Wilfred's parish which was converted into the modern church of St Wilfred's & St Laurence. The original Pugin building is now occupied by several commercial companies as part of an enterprise centre, and is externally, at least, a little run down and sadly in need of some refurbishment." The Pevsner Guide for
Manchester describes St Wilfrid's as, "A
seminal building in the history of C19 church
architecture, yet in striking contrast to the
regeneration all around, it is in shockingly poor
condition."
Today Pugin's church is
the St Wilfrid’s Enterprise Centre. It was
developed within the former building, by the
regeneration social enterprise group Firmstart, in 1994.
An entry on the Internet advertising an office space
within the Enterprise Centre says this of the building,
"It
contains 21 units on two floors, accessible by stairs
and a lift. It offers serviced offices furnished or
unfurnished. Each office has its own unique charm,
with the original architecture on show. On the first
floor the ceilings have wooden beams and glazing
panels, while on the ground floor there are stained
glass windows, decorative pillars and lancet shaped
doors."
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