A creepy abandoned church that overlooks the picturesque Hollingworth Lake is set to be auctioned off later this month.
With the spooky season right around the corner, and Halloween soon to be here before we know it, a scary slice of history is set to go under the hammer in just a few weeks time, and it comes in the form of a dilapidated church building set beside one of Greater Manchester‘s most popular reservoirs that’s been left to ruins for over 24 years.
St Hilda’s CE Mission on Hollingworth Fold – which overlooks Hollingworth Lake in the semi-rural Rochdale town of Littleborough – was founded in 1931 and was the hub of a community, before it closed its doors for good in 1998 due to structural problems.
This is not where the story of building itself begins though, as it lived a life before then elsewhere and is believed to date back to the late 1870s.
A spooky abandoned church overlooking Hollingworth Lake is set to be auctioned off / Credit: Pugh Auctions
Records at the Touchstones Local Studies Library in Rochdale show that in the 1870s, there were around 250 Roman Catholics in Littleborough, and they were the ones who all banded together to build the church on its initial site Featherstall Road in 1878.
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It became known as the ‘Iron Church’ as it was made of metal sheets.
The church building was later bought by the Mission of St Hilda, before it was dismantled and rebuilt at Hollingworth Fold in 1931.
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The derelict abandoned building has been at the centre of locals’ intrigue ever since, and now it’s set to go to auction with a guide price of just £25,000.
St Hilda’s CE Mission is sat on a plot of land that extends to 899 sq yds / Credit: Pugh Auctions
With the church sat on a plot of land that extends to 899 sq yds, auctioneers say the site could be suitable for a variety of different uses in the future – including possible development potential, which is subject to any necessary planning permissions.
It’s also walking distance of amenities in Smithy Bridge too.
Speaking ahead of the building going to auction, Edward Feather – associate director at Pugh Auctions – said: “St Hilda’s mission church is an intriguing and unusual property that presents a unique opportunity for the right buyer.
“Founded in 1931, the church closed in 1998 and has stood derelict ever since. The dilapidated remains have caught the attention of many history enthusiasts and passers-by because of its eerie appearance on the Lancashire landscape.
“Interestingly, it can only be accessed by foot which adds to the property’s mystery, but for the right buyer I have no doubt that this historic property is a true gem.”
Morocco fans shut down the streets of Rusholme while celebrating remarkable win against Spain
Danny Jones
Morocco fans living in Manchester were understandably ecstatic following their incredible win over Spain in the World Cup and their celebrations ended up spilling onto the streets of Rusholme.
The North African nation who currently sit as the world no. 22 in the FIFA ranking stunned almost everyone watching their round of 16 tie against Spain, who for many were considered among the favourites to win the tournament, as they beat them 3-0 on penalties.
After some serious heroics from the keeper commonly known as ‘Bono’, Spanish-born wingback Achraf Hakimi sealed the win with an audacious Panenka penalty to send Morocco into the quarters.
And this is how those on the streets of Rusholme reacted:
As you can see, large stretches of the Curry Mile were brought to a standstill as Morocco fans danced in the streets, sounding out chants and waving flags following their historic victory.
Besides beating the same team who smacked Costa Rica for seven just a couple of games prior, they also became the first Arab nation to ever make it to the final eight of the World Cup. Record-breakers.
Although the scenes were obviously joyous, the jubilation did lead to a series of impromptu roadblocks.
As you can see in the images above, the roaming fans caused some significant delays and it took some time for traffic in the area to normalise.
Morocco will now play Portugal in the quarter-finals on Friday, 9 December. Could we be in for another shock result against another night’s high-scoring side?
As for the Three Lions, their game against France kicks off at 7pm on Saturday. Here are a fair few places you can watch it:
Architect video shows the progress of the ever-changing Greater Manchester skyline
Danny Jones
A building planner and architecture firm’s new YouTube video shows the remarkable progress of Greater Manchester’s ever-changing skyline.
VU.CITY is a city-planning firm based out of London that specialises in building out 3D platforms which render both existing, developing and future structures.
Better yet, it shows a 3D visual representation of what they will look like in the coming months and years.
It’s even crazier to think what the trajectory of this video would have looked if you wound the clock back even by another 10 years.
As you can, not only has the company shown city’s skyline evolves over time, the company recently highlighted both central and Greater Manchester, highlighting the likes of Salford, Salford Quays and Stockport as they continue to grow.
While plenty of people have been understandably concerned over Manchester’s ever-changing skyline, especially post-2020’s Manctopia programme about the local property boom, the money these new-builds and developments have generated in the city cannot be denied.
Not only is Manchester one of the fastest-growing cities in Europe but two different towns in the region have been named among the best places to live in Britain over the past 12 months alone, but the city centre itself was named by Time Out as one of the best locations to visit anywhere in the UK.
It’s no wonder some of the happiest people in the country also live here, apparently.
Just lots of people telling us what we already know: Manchester is mint and thanks to its ever-changing skyline, it’s only looking more attractive to city types.
Emily Sergeant -
11th October 2022 
