page_title: Gorton Monastery
section_title: Modern developments
hierarchical_section_title: Gorton Monastery / Modern developments
caption_attribution_description: English: Statues of saints from w:Gorton Monastery, carved in the 19th century to be fixed on plinths high on the walls of the nave. They were removed by developers in the late 20th century but rescued from auction. This set of photographs shows the saints under restoration and temporarily held in containers. These statues represent Franciscan saints, but the stonemason appears to have used models from Gorton Monastery itself. The figures are in natural and relaxed poses, and could be praying, meditating and reading while leaning against walls, as did the real-life monks at Gorton.
context_page_description: The Church and Friary of St Francis, known locally as Gorton Monastery, is a 19th-century former Franciscan friary in Gorton, Manchester, England. The Franciscans arrived in Gorton in December 1861 and built their friary between 1863 and 1867. Most of the building work was done by the friars themselves, with a brother acting as clerk of works. The foundation stone for the church was laid in 1866 and completed in 1872; it closed for worship in 1989. It is a prominent example of High Victorian Gothic architecture, and has been listed with Grade II* status since 1963. It was designed by Edward Welby Pugin, whose father, A.W.N. Pugin, promoted the revival of Gothic as the style of architecture which was the ideal expression of Catholic faith and worship in church buildings.
context_section_description: In 1997, Gorton Monastery was placed on the World Monuments Fund Watch List of 100 Most Endangered Sites in the World alongside Pompeii, the Taj Mahal and the Valley of the Kings.
  The church and associated friary buildings underwent a £6 million restoration programme supported by funds from the Heritage Lottery Fund, English Heritage and European Regional Development Fund. The project was completed in June 2007 when the restored buildings opened as a venue for conferences, business meetings and community events. The building is also used for a range of concerts.
  Construction of a new "Welcome Wing" with facilities for education and the community, along with further restoration on the altars, decorations, and floor tiles, started in February 2016, following from a £1 million donation from Norman Stoller in September 2014, and £2 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund in December 2014. The wing, designed by Eco Arc, was built by HH Smith & Sons Ltd on the footprint of a building that was demolished in the 1960s.
caption: Statues
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