Masonic 'symbol' church in danger, warns charity

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Masonic ‘Da Vinci Code’ church in danger, warns charity
A CRUMBLING and abandoned Victorian church built as a “temple to Freemasonry” needs urgent restoration work to save it for the nation, a charity has warned.

St Edmund’s Church in, Falinge, Rochdale, is regarded as one of the finest but least known gems of ecclesiastical architecture in the country.
Although resembling a typical parish church on the outside, its elaborate exterior is packed with Masonic symbolism prompting comparisons with the medieval Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland, the setting for much of Dan Brown’s bestselling novel The Da Vinci Code.
Built in 1870 by the industrialist and banker Albert Hudson Royds, its cavings, windows, furniture and vaulted gothic ceiling are covered in masonic imagery.
And sited on the highest point in the surrounding area, it was constructed based on the dimensions of King Solomon’s Temple in the Bible.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/ ... arity.html

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Wiki has:

St Edmund’s Church (or the Church of St Edmund) is a redundant church building located on Clement Royds Street in the Falinge area of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, England. Commissioned by Rochdale's local industrialist and Freemason Albert Royds, the construction of the building was completed to a high and rich specification in 1873, with an "enormous" cost of around £25,000 (£1.64 million as of 2013).[1][2] It is the only known church building in England so overtly dedicated to Masonic symbolism and is therefore unique within English architecture.

Many churches in Rochdale display reference to Freemasonry but none so prominently as St Edmund’s.[3] English Heritage designated St Edmund's as a Grade II* listed building in 1985. The Victorian Society, the United Kingdom's national charity responsible for the study and protection of Victorian and Edwardian arts and architecture, identified the building as "unusual and extraordinary" but also critically endangered, placing it among the nation's top-10 endangered buildings.[1] The building was upgraded to a Grade I listed building by English Heritage in September 2010 largely due it being a rare example of Masonic architecture on a church, as opposed to a Masonic Lodge.[3] Nick Bridgland, Heritage Protection Team Leader for English Heritage in northern England said that "St Edmunds is unique as it merges the architectural style of Gothic revival with Masonic symbolism to create a building which is not only a successful parish church but also a temple to Freemasonry. The completeness of the Masonic scheme is unparalleled in England and the importance of this building is reflected in its Grade I listing"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_ ... ,_Rochdale

[BigI]

A good article on St Edmunds in "The Square" Sept 2010.
http://www.magarena.com/St.-Edmunds-Church-Rochdale-A-Freemasonic-Church-3922/

[Hilaritas]

I used to live near Rochdale a couple of years ago a friend and I heard about St. Edmund's Church. Its a beautiful building and there are some interesting collections of photographs on flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/fotofacade ... 469183493/