Introduction to St Johns Podcast
St John the Baptist R.C. Church, Dowling Street
Magnificent Mosaics- Connecting Communities
The project:
St John the Baptist RC Church, a Grade l l* Byzantine-style masterpiece, stands at the gateway to Rochdale’s Heritage Action Zone and is currently on the Heritage at Risk Register due to water-ingress. Working with the National Lottery Heritage Fund and other grant organisations the essential renovation work will ensure the iconic dome and magnificent mosaics are protected and can be celebrated by new and diverse audiences.
St John’s is a working church in a multi-cultural community that has always been a place of congregation but now is opening its doors with a new and more inclusive welcome offer.
A key part of our work with the National Lottery Heritage Project has been to open up St John’s to the wider community. One way of introducing the wider community to St John’s has been through a range of Heritage Projects which includes audio stories available as podcasts. These are personal reflections on the historic environment of Rochdale looking at themes of migration, identity and faith.
St John’s is an iconic Rochdale landmark building with a dome that can be seen for miles around. The present church was the inspiration of the Reverend Henry Chipp who was parish priest from1897 until 1936. He wanted it designed in Byzantine style based on the church of Santa Sophia in Istanbul.
John’s mosaics can represent the different people and communities living in Rochdale” – Asylum Seeker
The beautiful sanctuary mosaic has the potential to connect with a wide range of audiences. Some who see the mosaic want to understand the visual language and symbolic nature of the artwork for example the magnificent peacock design, the peacock is viewed as a symbol of good luck and majesty in Islamic culture whereas in the Catholic tradition it is a symbol of triumph over death. For others there is a particular interest in how the artist designed the mosaic and how skilled craftsmen made the mosaic. Visitors to the church often comment that the mosaic is as fine as any seen in Rome and utterly unexpected in Rochdale.
It has even been suggested that the mosaic of many colours that work together is an appropriate metaphor for Rochdale which could be viewed as a town made up of a mosaic of many different cultural communities!