At the OPENING of the ORGAN

By a nomcrwu and select BAND of the best PERTORMERS in the Neighborhood.
The first VIOLIN, by Mr. Vaiawrtgbt.
The Chooses will be a* full as possible, with Trumpet*. Kettle Diums. &c.Tickets* to be had at the Angel Inn, the Sign of Nags Head, the Hare aod Hounds, and at John Hardmans the Pack Horse in Oldham' Admittance, Gallery is. 1s 6d. Body 1s The Doors to be opened at Eleven. and begin at Twelve.Between the 1^st and 2^nd Part. Master Robert Buckley will perform a CONCERTO upon the ORGAN as also betwixt the2nd and 3rd Parts.An ASS£MLY in the Evening. at the ANGEL Inn

Advertisement from the Manchester Mercury for 18lh July 1775 for the dedication of St Peter's organ the following day

their respective ringers. Oldham obtained six bells in 1722, Ashton beat them by by two bells in 1779, Oldham caught up with eight bells three years later and then Ashton added another two. But Oldham was to have twelve bells in the new church- It was 1880 before Ashton got a peal of twelve bells, but they surpassed Oldham in 1927 with the hanging of a thirteenth. That year they rang a ambridge Surprise Maximus, involving a total of 15,312 changes and giving Ashton a world record. It was 1980 before Oldham got its thirteenth bell .The churchyard, referred to locally as "God's Acre", was the only burial ground in Oldham until St Peter's and St James' Churches opened. With the increase in churches and the opening of municipal graveyards it was decided to close St Mary's churchyard and in 1938 the local authority took over its management and made it into a garden of rest. St Mary's Church had two Sunday schools, one on Burnley Street and one on Lord Street.

The latter, better known to many Oldhamers as St George's Hall, led a chequered life after its closure as a school in the 1930s - it was used variously as cinema, billiard hall, dance hall, supermarket and trade union social club. It was demolished when the new swimming stadium was constructed and the site is now a lawn outside the new building. The church also has long-standing relationships with the Blue Coat School and with the original Oldham Grammar School. Church and schools, like every other building in Oldham, have been much affected by the changes of comparatively recent times.

In the 1960s the large area called St Mary's behind the church was completely altered by the building of a sizeable council estate. The church lost its schools and gained a new parish hall. A decade later the church was in need of redecoration and restoration. The architect commissioned to supervise the work was Mr Dykes Bower, Surveyor Emeritus to Westminster Abbey. His design was in keeping with the period of the church and the paintwork, carried out by the London/ Liverpool company Campbell Smith, is an a most exact reproduction of the paintwork of the 1830s. A local blacksmith, Mr Philip Tennant of Greenfield, made forty chandeliers to the original specifications as part of the restoration of the lighting and there was also work on the fabric, wiring and windows. This fabric maintenance is, of course, a continuous process which still goes on today.

In 1978 St Mary's joined with two other churches, St Andrew's and Holy Trinity, Coldhurs^ to form a team ministry. This involved the three ministers covering for each other and effectively running the three parishes as one large one. St Peter's Church The Oldham of 1714 was an agricultural community, scattered in small hamlets and farms, with a total population of 1,732. By 1789 this had grown to 8,012 as industry came to the district, and more people were living in the central area clustered around the small mediaeval church. Naturally the church soon proved too small for the growing congregation. It must be remembered that at this time church attendance was much higher than it is today, as there were quite severe penalties for not attending. It was decided that a second church was needed in Oldham and the site chosen was just two hundred yards from the old one. The foundation stone was laid in 1765 and the consecration ceremony was performed on 2nd June 1768 by the Right Reverend Edmund Keene, Bishop of Chester

. The original plain stone chapel was of simple design and by all accounts was plain inside, the only decoration being the stained glass windows. The east windows depicted the Last Supper and the Crucifixion and Resurrection, and the west windows represented Christ's commission to St Peter, St Paul and Christ's blessing of children.
The people of Oldham must have gained much inspiration from the illustration of Biblical subjects, for it is recorded that on 22nd April 1773 two paintings were purchased, one depicting Moses and the other Aaron, and they cost eight guineas.

As well as the visual arts, music played a great part in the tradition of St Peter's
Church. When the church opened the singing was accompanied by an orchestra, but on 19th July 1775 the second organ was officially dedicated with a performance of the "Messiah". This was accompanied by an orchestra made up of trumpets, kettle drums and violins and there was also a full choir. It was a whole day's experience, with an organ concerto performed by Master Robert Buckley between acts of the oratorio, and tickets were on sale for weeks in advance, many being sold in public houses

. Despite the size of the new church, it soon proved too small in its turn and in 1804 it was extended. The same year saw a new organ installed and in 1807 land was purchased from Mr Edward Greaves to add to the churchyard. Much of this work was done under the control of the church warden, Mr James Lees of Wallshaw House. St Peter's began as a chapel of ease to St Mary's Church, but it became an independent parish in 1835. The parish boundaries stretched from the Market Place down George Street and down Ashton Road to the Ashton boundary, returning by what is now Alexandra Park, then up Waterloo Street and across Union Street

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