A 163-year-old Catholic church in Bolton town centre is to be demolished after its closure was confirmed.

St Edmund’s had been used as a place of worship since 1861, until a ‘temporary closure’ was announced around 18 months ago due to a range of health and safety related issues.

In recent years, the church, on St Edmund Street, off Deansgate, had been popular with Bolton’s long established Ukrainian community.

Parishioners have been written to by Canon Michael Cooke, who is chair of the Salford diocesan trustees’ property committee who said the church authority would be looking to ‘demolish the buildings as soon as is practically possible’.

Canon Cooke told worshippers of the decision to permanently close the building.

His letter, said: “Further investigation of the property, including the hall below the church and the adjacent presbytery, has led the diocesan trustees to conclude that it would not be viable to re-open the church.

“I appreciate that this may not be the news you were hoping to hear, even if you may have anticipated it after these 18 months of closure, but it is the only way forward in the circumstances. “Maintaining empty property is also unsustainable in the longer term, the trustees will be looking to demolish the buildings as soon as is practically possible.”

Canon Cooke added that while that work was going on the diocese would be ‘considering the future development or disposal of the site’.

The letter ended: “Thankfully, the work done on St Patrick’s Church at the time when the transport interchange was being created means that the parish has a very fitting place to gather and worship.”

The building has a storied history and had been a continuous place of worship since it was opened in 1861. Its intention was to serve poor, often Irish community in the rapidly growing industrial town.

Then, the upper floor served as the church and the lower level as a school where generations of Boltonians went to be educated. At that time the church was surrounded by textile mills and workers’ housing,

The school was relocated in the early 20th century, and the lower floor converted to a parish hall.