The Cathedral Church of St. John the Evangelist, Salford is the Roman Catholic cathedral in the English city of Salford in Lancashire. Located in inner-city Salford, not far from the centre of Manchester, it is the seat of the Diocese of Salford and is known as Salford Cathedral. The architectural style is decorated neo-Gothic, and the Cathedral is a Grade II* listed building.

History

St. John's Church, Salford, was built between 1844 and 1848 to designs of Matthew Hadfield (1812-1885) of Weightman, Hadfield, and Goldie of Sheffield, by Benjamin Hollins of Manchester. The first cruciform Catholic church to be built in England after the Reformation, the plans for St. John's drew inspiration from notable churches of earlier centuries. The West Door is a copy of the West Front of Howden Church in Yorkshire; The Choir and Sanctuary are a replica of the Abbey Church of Selby; the decorations of the groined roof are copied from the church of St Jacques at Liege; the spire, the tallest in Lancashire at the time of building, is reminiscent of the ancient church at Newark in Nottinghamshire. Two notable local businessmen, Daniel Lee and John Leeming, each donated £1,000 towards the cost of the church and furnishings; both benefactors are commemorated in chantries at the 'east' (actually north) end of the choir. The total cost of building was £18,000.

The foundation stone was laid in 1844 by Bishop James Sharples, coadjutor to Bishop George Brown, Vicar Apostolic of the Lancashire District. The church was opened on 9th August, 1848: Bishop Brown celebrated a Solemn High Mass in the presence of the Bishops of the other Vicariates of England and Wales. St. John's was elevated to cathedral status following the erection in September 1850 of the Diocese of Salford. On 25th July 1851 William Turner was consecrated the first Bishop of Salford in the Cathedral. In the same ceremony the Rector of St. John's, Dr George Errington was consecrated Bishop of Plymouth.

Thirty years later in October 1881 a violent storm caused serious damage to the Cathedral's 240 ft. spire. Canon Beesley, then the administrator, succeeded in raising funds for repairs to the spire and generally refurbishing the fabric of the building. He also oversaw the building of the new Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament in the South transept.

By early 1890 the last £1,000 was paid to settle the original debt for the building of the Cathedral, which led to the consecration of the Cathedral in the same year by the second Bishop of Salford, Herbert Vaughan, later to become Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster.

In 1919/20 the turrets on the West front were found to be in danger of collapsing into the street below. They were taken down and rebuilt by the Sheffield firm of O'Neill & Son under the direction of Charles M. Hadfield, grandson of the Cathedral's original architect. Fifteen years later the spire was found to have strayed from the perpendicular and the Civic authorities ordered that some sixty feet be removed. Repairs were not completed until 1938. Restoration and repair of damage sustained in the Second World War was carried out in the immediate post-war years. Further restoration was carried out in 1971/2 at a cost of £80,000.