Melbourne Court

Melbourne Court, formerly the Sunday School of Trinity Street, was built in 1904-5 as part of a larger Congregational Church complex constructed between 1859 and 1862. The design is attributed to the architectural practice of Poulton and Woodman, who were responsible for five Congregational churches in Lancashire and Greater Manchester. Historical maps indicate the site was previously a burial ground for an earlier independent chapel and the Sunday School replaced an earlier school likely built around the same time as the original church. The foundation stone was laid in 1905 by John Frederick Cheetham, a local mill owner, philanthropist, and Liberal MP for Stalybridge, who contributed £1,000 to the building’s cost. The building faces the library financed by Cheetham a few years prior. The Sunday School worked with the Mechanic’s Institute to provide adult education classes. The library’s endowment came from John Bright, a significant British politician and orator and former MP for Manchester. The building was later converted into sheltered housing in the late 20th century.

The building is constructed of coursed rubble with sandstone dressings and a Welsh slate roof. It is two storeys high, with a first-floor hall and meeting rooms and classrooms on the ground floor. The entrance and stair hall are situated towards the street (east). The frontage, aligned east-west onto Trinity Street, features a 2:4:2 arrangement with stone mullioned and transomed windows, and a porched entrance with a moulded doorway surround. The roof has a shaped parapet and central gable with coping, kneelers, and finials; there are also buttresses with concave gables. The main block is taller. All windows on the riverside elevation are mullioned and transomed, with alternate window bays incorporating gables. The south elevation is similar in design. A central cupola features louvred bellcote openings beneath a pediment. The interior retains the original layout and is plain, with an elaborate staircase featuring turned balusters and panelled newels.