The Grade I listed Holy Name Church, constructed in 1872, was designed and erected by Gothic Revival architect Joseph Aloysius Hansom alongside his son and partner Joseph Stanislaus Hansom. The original design featured a never completed 73-metre steeple, in its place is the distinctive octagonal top to the tower that we know today was added in 1928.
In October 1895, The Holy Name was the site of the funeral service for Sir Charles Hallé where The Hallé Orchestra and Choir performed Mozart’s Requiem.
Until 1994, the church served members of the Society of Jesus and although the Holy Name faced closure in the 1980s when its traditional congregations dwindled, today it serves the university community here on the Oxford Road Corridor and is one of the city’s most striking landmarks.
