Wikipedia has this to say about Saint Joseph's Seminary at Upholland, near Wigan. I am afraid to say that I have lifted it almost wholesale as, being a none religious kind of person, words like Diocese don't mean a terrific lot to me and I didn't want to get any facts wrong just in case I p*ss someone off from Big G  Inc. and get excommunicated for my sins!

"Saint Joseph's College was founded in 1880 by Bishop Bernard O'Reilly to be the Seminary serving the North West of England. The college was formally opened in 1883 and was situated in Walthew Park, Upholland, the geographic centre of the Diocese of Liverpool. Candidates for the priesthood studied and were ordained at the college. Up until the second Vatican Council boys as young as 11 years of age entered the Junior Seminary before progressing to the senior Seminary at 18. In 1972 following changes of policy the two junior seminaries of Saint Joseph's and Ushaw, along with the junior seminary of Saint Michael's, merged at Upholland, and in 1975, with declining numbers of men from Ireland offering themselves for the (now) Archdiocese of Liverpool the Senior seminary moved to Ushaw. In the 1980s Saint Joseph's offered boarding school education for boys considering a vocation up until 1987. From then until 1991, the building housed a small group of students who were still interested in a vocation to the priesthood, but rather than being schooled within the premises, they attended Saint John Rigby College, at Orrell.

Following the end of the seminary training and boarding education, Saint Joseph's became home to the Upholland Northern Institute (UNI) and was used as a retreat and conference centre for the Archdiocese under the leadership of Msgr John Devine.

The election of Archbishop Patrick Kelly saw the controversial decision to close Saint Joseph's altogether and the property was sold to Anglo International who instructed AEW Architects for the conversion of the Grade 2 listed RC Seminary to 92 apartments, with 220 new build enabling units. The major controversies of the decision were the ongoing financial viability of Saint Joseph's (it had just started to make a small surplus under Devine's management) and the sale and disposal of the art and artefacts in the college, much of which had been donated by various parishes and people of the Archdiocese who were not offered their donations back."

What is interesting, and somewhat depressing is, that like many of these wonderful old buildings with a Grade II listing, the great and high-falluting plans which are announced to convert the building into flats etc. always seem to go nowhere fast whilst all the while the building decays - if the plans for Saint Joeys are anything remotely like the plans for Barnes Hospital then we will be lucky to see a flat in there up for sale this side of 2050. Fortunately this particularly beautiful building has not decayed too far yet, though the observatory tower is now reportedly in a seriously bad state. Chavvery has just about been kept at bay by a combination of CCTV and on site security patrols however there are very few windows left at ground level that have not had to be boarded up to prevent forced entry or from plain old vandalism. As always it's a crying shame to see such a beautiful building slipping inexorably into decay.

Getting into the seminary then is something of a problem, though clearly it has been done by others if the internet reports are anything to go by. We managed it, though not by stealth, and most certainly not by a break in! The fact of the matter is I have a vested interest in viewing this building in conjunction with one aspect of my work so I would like a return trip sooner not later!

 

The college is accessed via a long drive through mature, wooded gardens. In the distance is the gate security hut...	Two large lakes are sited to the front of the college opposite the main entrance...	Virginia Creeper clothes the college walls...
The contrast between red sandstone and Virginia Creeper...	At the back of the building is a church which can be entered both from within the college or from outside...	ITV's popular soap opera Coronation Street recently filmed a funeral for one episode within this church...
The college clock can be viewed both from the outside of the college and from within the quad...	Ventilation is achieved naturally by way of towers built at the highest point of the roof...	Statuary in the quad viewed from the other side of the security fence...
A secluded corner of the building adjacent to modern lecture rooms...	Tonto taking in the exterior at the far side of the college...	The small grave yard contains the graves of former bishops and priests from the seminary...
The observatory tower on the north east corner...	The observatory dome...	Small entrance door adjacent to the security cabin...
Transverse corridor on the southern side of the seminary...	Within the lower (main) floor of the massive library. Until relatively recently there were still masses of books here!	A spiral staircase takes one up to an upper area of the library...
On the upper floor of the library. The oak table in the corner is a serious piece of work!	The wibbly, wobbly way back down again!	No books now, just dust and dead pigeons...
The view down into the quad looking roughly due north through a (dirty) library window. The observatory dome can be seen clearly...	The clock viewed from the quad side...	Leaving the library...
Attention to detail... finely crafted brass light switches...	The southern wing entrance hall viewed from the first floor landing...	Finely crafted woodwork on the first floor...
The view in the opposite direction down into the southern wing corridor...	The southern wing transverse corridor leads to the church...	View of the quad. The lawns are still kept in great shape considering the building has been closed up now.
This room has recently been used whilst filming a comedy drama...	Fine carved oak chair by the chapel...	The church nave is showing signs of damage from water ingress but it was still not too bad at the time of our visit.
The organ pipe loft...	The gilt and beautiful blue colouring make this statue of Jesus very striking...	There is a very different styling going on here and it is just as beautiful...
The view from the west end of the church up the nave towards the alter...	The stained glass window over the alter...	Interior detail of the gilt Christ...
This appears to be carved from white alabaster or marble...	The bell rope used to summon the faithful to prayers... I wonder how many times a day?	Mahogany cabinets within the vestry held all the regalia and robes the priest would wear for service...
Assorted vestments...	Back within the main corridor on the southern wing this was the first signage we saw within the college...	That's quite some set of power switches!!!
The college was designed to make optimum use of all available natural light and each of these big windows has it's own window seat...	A washroom/ablutions area which was recently set dressed to look like a prison cell for a drama shoot...	A bath room...
The bath in the room next door has a really old shower "cubicle" fitted - all mod cons at the turn of the century I imagine!	We hope you enjoyed our photo tour of Saint Joseph's Seminary...	...and finally, time to leave!