The monastery was abandoned by Franciscan monks back in 1989, after which the Catholic church sold the building to a property developer. The developer drew up plans to convert main church in seven storeys of flats, which would have caused huge damage to the building's fabric had the company not promptly gone bust. Ownership passed to the developer's creditors, which took minimal action to protect the monastery from vandals. Inevitably, the place was ripped apart. When Elaine visited with her husband – a former chorister – the monastery was little more than a shell.
But perhaps what is most shocking is that it is nearly impossible to imagine such a historic building from falling into a state of such decrepitude if it was located in Mayfair or in Edinburgh's New Town. The fact is that the monastery is located slap bang in the middle of a deprived east Manchester housing estate; off the beaten track, yes, but hardly inaccessible. It seems that it had been rather a long time since English Heritage had paid a visit.
