Our Lady and the Apostles Church, Stockport

In 1776, St Chad's Chapel was opened on Rock Street in Manchester. The priest would travel from Manchester to Sutton to serve the Catholic congregations in Macclesfield and Stockport. In 1794, St Mary's Church, Mulberry Street was opened in Manchester and it became the centre from which priests would serve the Catholics in and around the city. Funds were collected to start a mission in Stockport by the priests at St Mary's Church. On 1 May 1798, a house was rented on Windmill Street in Stockport. It was opened for the saying of Mass on 22 July 1798. From 1801, the priest of the mission, a Fr James Blundell started to raise money for a permanent church to be built.[4]

In 1802, the foundation stone of St Philip and St James Church was laid by Fr Richard Thompson, the curate of St Mary's Church, Mulberry Street. On 1 May 1803, the church was opened and Mass was said by Fr Rowland Broomhead, the parish priest of St Mary's Church. The bricks used in its construction were made on site. In the 1830s, with the increasing size of the congregation, the church was enlarged. A tower, side galleries and a larger vestry were added. On 23 September 1832, the church was reopened.[4] From 1845, priests from St Philip and St James Church started a mission in the centre of the town, which became St Joseph's Church.[5]

With the increasing Catholic population a larger church was needed. Our Lady of the Apostles Church replaced St Philip and St James Church. In 1905, the church was built. It was designed by Edmund Kirby. The front of the church is similar to Sacred Heart Church in Chorley which Kirby designed in 1894. The stained-glass windows in the church was attributed to Margaret Agnes Rope. In 1925, the sanctuary was redesigned to become a First World War memorial.[1][3]

The sanctuary was re-ordered in 1989 to bring it into line with post Vatican-Two requirements.