Denton, St. Mary's RC Church Baptisms 1867-1873 & 1889-1924 (Download)

Members of the Irish Branch of Manchester & Lancashire FHS have by kind permission of the Salford Diocese, transcribed details of the 747 baptisms recorded in the registers.

The transcript provides full details as contained in the register and is accompanied by an index to the 3,219 names of children, parents and godparents which appear in the register entries.

Please note: The first register covering 1869-1902 ends abruptly with the entry for 4 May 1873 and re-commences on the following page with an undated entry for 1889 (the following entry is dated 31 March). The pages have been numbered in manuscript at some point and this numbering is continuous across the gap (pages 6 and 7). In addition, entries are incomplete between March 1870 and August 1872 and often consist of nothing more than a surname and birth/baptism dates.

The explanation would appear to be connected with the church history (see below) in which up to 1889 was not independent of its parent church. It is possible that there were no baptisms at St. Mary's during this period or that baptisms were performed but recorded in the registers of St. Ann's, however, there is no sign of the incomplete entries 1870-72 in the St. Ann's baptism register for this period.

Also included are images of the original baptism registers.

About this church

Fr. Thomas Twomey from St. Anne's, Ashton-under-Lyne, opened a school-chapel here, but for the first twelve years Denton was dependent on the mother parish. In 1889 the parish became independent. Fr. Twomey went to Radcliffe and Fr. John Welch, who became well-known later as Rector of Mount Carmel, Salford, came here in 1895. Fr. H. Schurgers and Fr. P. Joyner were here for a short time. Fr. P. Prendergast was appointed in 1912. During more recent years Fr. W. Moran and Fr. A. Stack have been the parish priests of this busy industrial parish.

The above description is based on information published in "Salford Diocese and its Catholic past", a survey by Charles A. Bolton, a Priest of the above Diocese. Published 1950 on the First Centenary for the Diocese of Salford.