Tour

FONT

Christians start their lives as members of the Church by being baptized at the font. This marks our entry into the Church, and so the font is placed near the west doors, the ceremonial entrance used on special occasions. The font is made from alabaster with a fine oak cover, which has Victorian designed ironwork to lift it.

Altar

The altar is the centre-piece of our worship; it is here that the Eucharist is celebrated each Sunday and on festivals. The splendid marble and alabaster SCREEN was modeled by Waterhouse on the screen of St Mark's, Venice. It is unique in this country. The figures on the top of the screen are of St Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

Chancel

The chancel was the original focus of worship when the church was built. It is now used for some weekday services and the choir sits on the oak seats during main services. The organ was built by William Hill of London in 1885. It was reduced in size and rebuilt in 1969. We hope to restore it to its original condition in due course. The marble seats on the left of the sanctuary are a SEDILIA. It was here that the clergy used to sit when this area was used for the regular Eucharist.

The High Altar was brought to St Elisabeth's from the new demolished Church of the Holy Angels, Claremont, in Salford. In the marble screen behind the altar is the TABERNACLE. Here, the consecrated bread from the Eucharist is kept to take to the sick. It is also a focus of devotion; the presence of the blessed sacrament of our Lord's Body and blood is marked by the white light burning in the hanging lamp.

Houldsworth Chapel

The Houldsworth Chapel was built after the First World War as a memorial to Sir William Henry Houldsworth, the founder of St Elisabeth's. His monument, made by the famous firm of Farmer and Brindley, is on the north wall of the chapel. Recently, the roof of this chapel has been redesigned to blend it better in to the style of the Church.

The chapel also contains a splendid triptych reredos with a fine oil painting of Our Lord’s Passion.

Lady Chapel

On the south side of the chancel is the Lady Chapel. This is a little church of its own, used for weekday services.
Before St Elisabeth's was built, the congregation would meet in the Houldsworth club, found opposite the church. The Club was designed by the architect Abraham Stott of Oldham. Stott created a large room on the upper floor of the club to use for worship. When Waterhouse built the Church, he reflected some of the details of the club in the new church building. The Lady Chapel ceiling was made to exactly the same dimensions as the ceiling in the club opposite. Some of the furnishings were moved over to the new Church. The altar rails and lectern in the Lady Chapel have survived from the earliest days of the life of our congregation.
Oak and glass screens separate the Lady Chapel from the main Church. These were designed by Buttress Fuller Alsop Williams, the architects who currently care for the Church, and were made by George Sixsmith and Sons of Mossley in 1994. The screens allow the Lady Chapel to be heated apart from the main Church. Junior church also takes place in the Lady Chapel on the second and fourth Sundays of the month.