Tuesday, 21 September 2010

Windmill, St George's Road (Rochdale Road)


St George's Road Church, Rochdale Road. (c) googlemaps.

In around 1840 St George's Road, one of the main thoroughfares north of Manchester, was renamed Rochdale Road. The church at the lower end of the road retained its name as St George's Road Chapel, a "Particular Baptist Chapel". It was at this church that the Orangemen of Manchester and the Irish had a spot of trouble in 1834 after their 12th of July celebrations.

St George's Road Church, Rochdale Road. (c) googlemaps.

Several hundred Catholics attacked the Orange Order who were on their way back from service the day after the 12th, a Sunday, to the Windmill pub near St George's Road church. The following day police had to be employed to stop the sexton of the church being lynched by the Irish at the nearby Britains Protection on Oldham Road. The Windmill was just one of the Orangemen's meeting places, and indeed in the earlier part of the 19th century, Manchester was a major stronghold of the Orange Order [1].

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