1875 to 1885

Rev James Gordon B.A. 1875 to 1885

Mr Gordon had been a policeman with the Manchester force before he was ordained into the ministry of the Church. His experience of poverty and its effects was to stand him in good stead during his ten years at Norbury. No sooner had he 'read himself in' on the 7th February 1875, when he was faced with a dilemma that needed all his courage and fortitude to overcome.

The problem that had been growing for some years was caused by the complicated boundary system. This was reflected in the sewage problem, over which the four authorities had haggled for a very long time. As the situation became more acute the frustrations of the villagers turned to resentment. Some of this ill-feeling was directed at the officials of Norbury church, whom they considered could have at least shown some sympathy towards them in their troubles. This might have been a little unjust in that the areas mainly affected were not in the parish.

The matter was brought to a head, however, on the 14th May that year when an article in the Stockport Advertiser openly expressed the muttered feelings of the villagers when it told all and sundry that:

Though sheer lack of being understood and met with sympathy and kindness by church officials, hundreds had been alienated from Norbury church, and driven to dissenting chapels, or what is worse, to lounging about or boozing in a public house.

Mr Gordon's reaction to this criticism was expressed in the Sunday School procession of that year. Instead of the customary walk around the parish, which did not go beyond Hatherlow Lane, he gathered together 400 teachers, scholars, and friends including the Hazel Grove brass band (15) and, despite the heavy rain that fell for most of the time, he personally led them on a march that was to break down all the old parish tradition by proceeding along the full length of the village and back. To accomplish this he had left the parish of Norbury and continued through those parts of the village that came under St. Mary's Cheadle and St. Mary's Stockport, before returning to Norbury. This was a deliberate and public annexation of Hazel Grove to Norbury parish.

For the next few months Mr Gordon was to be seen each week day in the Commercial Road area of the village, which came under the parish of Cheadle, where we are told:

He made inroads on the affections of the villagers by visiting them and interesting himself in their welfare, for under a rough exterior the inhabitants of the Grove are possessed of warm hearts and kindly dispositions, which have been soured somewhat by past neglect.

This missionary work soon showed results for in less than twelve months the congregation at church had trebled. The communicants had become so numerous that a new chalice was an absolute necessity and on Easter Sunday 1876 the second of our chalices was presented to him by the parishioners.

Mr Gordon introduced a number of changes into the customs of the church. The congregation were now asked to remain seated during the singing of the anthems and an organ voluntary was introduced between the first and second lessons. On a number of occasions he had cause to ask the Sunday School teachers to keep their young charges from fidgeting and whispering during his long sermons. The habits of the children were an annoyance to the more influential of the pew-holders, so Mr Gordon arranged that during the singing of the hymn prior to the sermon the young ones should quietly make their exit.

The money that had in previous years been collected to decorate the church lavishly at Christmas time was now used to buy clothes for the poor of the area and provide a hot meal on Christmas Day for those old folk who would not otherwise have one.

After the extension of the parish he introduced the annual Wakes Sunday open air service, which was held on a piece of waste ground off Commercial Road, where is now the Post Office sorting depot.

(15) The Hazel Grove band was formed in 1869/70. By the turn of the century it was one of the leading bands in the north west. After the second world war it became part of the Mirrlees Blackstone works band