St Bede's College Manchester
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Places of interest

INSPIRED · COMMITTED · GRATEFUL ·

The Academic Hall

The Manchester Aquarium Company was founded in April 1871, and a vast complex of buildings was designed for the Alexandra Road site by architect Joseph Sherwin. The building we know today as the Academic Hall was built to be the central part of this complex, which opened as the Manchester Aquarium in May 1874, the flanking wings contained exhibition spaces, with refreshment rooms and offices at the rear. Mr William Saville-Kent, one of the foremost marine biologists of the age, was engaged as curator. The Aquarium however was a commercial failure and the company went into liquidation in July 1877.

The initial plans were to sell the building to become a Music Hall, however Bishop Vaughan, felt that having such a ‘Den of Iniquity’ next door, would ruin the recently opened St Bede’s Commercial College, so he purchased it in August 1877 to become of the centre of the College. Initially the Bishop attempted to keep the Aquarium open, but again it failed and, in December 1877, it closed for good. The Vaughan building was then constructed along the front. Over the following years the Hall was used as classrooms, and served as the Parish Church for Whalley Range before the construction of English Martyrs, before being refurbished as the Academic Hall in the 1890s, when the stage was built. For a brief period following the Second World War, the hall was also adapted as a gymnasium. You can still clearly see the Aquarium’s original features, including the plaster marine animals and the beautiful wooden beam roof.

The Academic Hall in the 1880s, sporting most of the original Aquarium features, before it became subsumed by the Vaughan Building

Before the building of English Martyrs, the Academic Hall was briefly the parish church of Whalley Range

The Academic Hall as a classroom around the turn of the century; a stage has now been built and the original Aquarium display cases repurposed

The 1944 Education Act required Direct Grammars to have an indoor Sports’ Hall. Before the Covered Playground was repurposed, St Bede’s most versatile space briefly filled the void!

The Maher Library

The entranceway, offices and erstwhile ICT Suite of the Maher Library were originally part of the Manchester Aquarium. Following the acquisition of the site by St Bede’s College in 1877, Rector Louis Casartelli, later Bishop of Salford, built a Commercial Museum in this corridor, for the use of the boys and to assist with their education. The exhibits were varied and wide-ranging, displaying a wealth of material from across the British Empire. In 1932 the Museum was closed and dismantled with the area initially being used an art gallery, however shortly afterwards it fitted out with bookcases and became The War Memorial Library, until the building of the Maher Library in the 1990s. It is remembered by former students that Monsignor Gonne burned many of the original artefacts and books in a bonfire on the playground in 1938.

The Our Lady Corridor

Originally part of the original Aquarium, the Our Lady Corridor today houses College photographs going back to our founding. It also contains a statue of Our Lady as well as the original College Bell. The oak benches were originally placed in the Academic Hall and date back to the nineteenth century when the Academic Hall was used as a church.

The Main Corridor

The Main Vaughan Corridor was originally intended to be twice as long as it is, with grand staircases at either end. However, because the South Wing was never built it remains unfinished. The grand marble columns and mosaics were the personal gift of College Founder Cardinal Herbert Vaughan who wanted an impressive entrance to his new College. The many bees you can see all around the building and on our crest are a reminder that the original intention was that St. Bede’s would be a Commercial College to train Catholic boys up for the world of business. It is an appropriate emblem for an institution situated so close to Manchester, a city famous for its industry and commerce. There are also many valuable works of art donated by various benefactors over the years.

In November 2018 to coincide with the centenary of the Armistice, two new War Memorials to the Fallen Bedians of both World Wars and other conflicts were unveiled at the far end of the main corridor, either side of the statue of Saint Joseph which was another gift to the College from Cardinal Vaughan.

The Chapel

Our beautiful Chapel was completed in 1898 by renowned architect Oswald Hill, whose son Harry fell as a pilot during the Great War.

The Stations of the Cross were painted especially for the Chapel by Mssrs L. Beau of Paris and the original pews were carved by Charles Walker of Preston.

In 1911 the interiors were covered with colourful stencil designs and frescos following a bequest from the will of Oswald Hill but were whitewashed over in 1937 in anticipation of a new and more ornate mosaic being installed. However, the Second World War put paid to these plans.

The statue at the back of the Chapel is of Bishop Henshaw, former rector of the College who went on to be Bishop of Salford.

The beautiful organ was installed in 1908 and there were plans drawn up to build a high platform which was, sadly, never completed.

The sides of the Chapel are covered with brass plaques which commemorate former colleagues and Old Bedians who have gone to rest. Some go back to the early days of the College whilst others are more contemporary.

The white marble statues are St Anselm on the left and St Bede on the right. They were sculpted in Italy and installed in 1910. They are dedicated to the memories of Canon Thomas Corbishley, a former professor at the College and John Vincent Brown, a former pupil.

The high altar and the reredos are carved from St Anne’s marble and originally cost the princely sum of £400. They were paid for by an anonymous donor. The painting on the left hand side is of Pope Leo XIII who was Pope at the time the Chapel was consecrated. The other painting depicts a Madonna with cherubs and was probably donated by Father Joseph Burke , along with other College paintings. The marble altar rails were paid for by Bishop Carsartelli, a former Rector of St Bede’s and Bishop of Salford, to celebrate his Silver Jubilee of Ordination.

On the Epistle Side, you can see The Lady Chapel. This contains a marble altar paid for by money raised by the pupils of St Bede’s in 1898. The painting of the Miraculous Madonna which is set into the reredos dates from the 16th century and came into Cardinal Vaughan’s possession during his travels in Italy. It used to adorn the Convent of Tordespecchio in Rome.

The Epistle Side also contains the War Memorial Chapel, built when the chapel was extended in 1922. The carvings were made by Ferdinand Stuflesser, the most renowned church furniture designer of the time. This chapel contains two war memorials to the Fallen Bedians of both world wars and wreaths are laid here each year on Armistice Day.

On the Gospel Side, we have the Joseph Chapel. It contains as Neapolitan Altar of inlaid marble which formerly stood in the Dominican Church in Naples before being brought to St Bede’s by Cardinal Vaughan. The stained glass window depicts St. Francis de Salles and was erected in memory of Mother de Salles, the first Mistress of the Prep School. It also contains a wooden reliquary which was made by the inmates of the St Joseph’s industrial School in Longsight.

The Gospel Side is also home to the Altar of St Gerard Magella which came from The Salford Catholic Grammar School when it merged with St Bede’s College in 1891.The shrine itself was unveiled in 1899 by Cardinal Bourne, Archbishop of Westminster. The wall frescos depict he life of Father Magella and were completed in 1910.

The Joseph Refectory

Built 1878 to 1879 on the rear of the College Lodge, it provided a dining area for the resident community of the College. Bishop Vaughan was very keen that the Professors should eat with the Boarders and not separately. The room was designed to be a smaller scale version of the Refectory at Ushaw College, County Durham hung with grand portraits of important figures in College and Diocesan history. The panelling features painted shields of Popes, Bishops of Salford, College Rectors, College Donors, and Old Bedians who have been elevated to the episcopate. The fireplace (now boarded over) features fine Flemish tiles. Fans of classic British Drama may recognise it as a key location in ITV’s Jewel in the Crown. These days, it used as our Senior Refectory and can be hired by the public for events. Many evening College events are also held here.

The Study Hall

Built in 1880, this large grand room was originally used as the Study Hall for the Boarding Community. The boys would be required to work in here in the evenings and during free periods. They would be supervised by one of the Professors who would read improving sermons from a pulpit whilst the boys worked. Following the closure of the Boarding School in the 1980s the room was converted into the main Music Room for the College. The room originally featured beautiful marble fireplaces which were sadly removed when it was converted to a classroom.

The Vaughan Classrooms

Built in 1880, these three classrooms formed the nucleus of teaching at St Bede’s College. After the opening of the Henshaw building in 1934, the Vaughan was given over completely for residential purposes. These classrooms then became common-rooms for the Boarders, containing entertainment such as table tennis, snooker and even a large train-set. During the Second World War the windows were bricked up and the dormitories were relocated here as it was felt to be safer than the top floor. Conditions were very cramped. One former student described the makeshift dormitories as being “like a military hospital in the Crimean War” and reported that the cot beds were only six inches apart and that it was only with great difficulty that you could turn over without kicking your neighbour in the head!

After the German bombing raids subsided, the Common Rooms were re-built and continued in use until the 1980s when they were once again made into classrooms. In 2015 the middle classroom became a very welcome toilet facility for staff and visitors.

The Third Floor Dormitories and Sanatorium

From 1880 until 1989 the third floor of the Vaughan Building was the home of the Boarding Community of St Bede’s College. The floor was split into three dormitories: Junior, Middle and Senior. The room presently used as the boys’ toilets was the bedroom of the Prefect of Discipline, conveniently located for him to keep a close eye out for any trouble after lights out! The dormitories had no heating or running water, and each boy had his own bed and locker. Father Bernard Jackson recalled that, when a Boarder, he used to have to fill his wash basin with water every night before bed and that in the winter the water would freeze overnight!

The rooms at the very top of the Vaughan Building, often called ‘the Tower Rooms’, housed the College Sanatorium. Boys who became ill with infectious diseases would be isolated away from the rest of the students. The Boys were cared for by the College Matron. They later became the St Roche dormitories for Sixth Former Boarders who had their own study bedroom. They are now classrooms.

The Sports Hall

What is now our Sports Hall was originally called the ‘Covered Playground’. Built in 1883 and designed by Bishop Herbert Vaughan himself, the cast-iron roof was built by the famous firm of Andrew Handyside & Co. However the design of the building was flawed and, in order to prevent the new building collapsing, the large buttresses had to be built at either end. At one time a corner of the room was also used to store the College coal supply! During the Second World War it was requisitioned by the Auxiliary Fire-service to garage their engines but the roof was destroyed by a direct hit by a German bomb in the Manchester Blitz of 1940. The roof was re-constructed in 1946 but it was not until the 1980s that ‘The Covered’ was refurbished as the Sports Hall and, in the early 2000s, the exterior wall was refaced. Last year the Sports’ Hall had a wonderful new floor installed, another chapter in its long history.

The Dining Hall

The Day Boys Refectory, now the Dining Hall, was opened in 1957 as part of the newly built Beck Building. The Day Boys originally had their own Refectory from 1934 on the ground-floor central block of the Henshaw Building. However, the College converted this to classrooms after the Second World War when they acquired a disused army hut, which was erected in the playground. This legendary Bedian building, fondly known as ‘The Dinner ‘ut’, frequently collapsed and one of the requirements of the Grammar School funding was that a more suitable space was provided. Features of note in the Dining Hall are the gigantic painting of Bishop Beck and the now blocked off pulpit, from where passages from the Bible would be read to inspire the boys as they ate in silence! Today, the dining experience at St. Bede’s is somewhat different, with delicious and healthy meals served by our caterers Holyrood Howe. There are even comfy booths and a fully stocked salad bar.