Home > News > UK & Europe > Ashton > Inauguration of new BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir > History

Inauguration of new BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Manchester, UK

16 Oct 2021 to 17 Oct 2021

66 Princess Street, where the first satsang sabha was conducted in Ashton-under-Lyne, in 1971

In 1972, Swaminarayan Jayanti was celebrated by the local devotees at Hurst Community Centre

Pramukh Swami Maharaj first graced Ashton-under-Lyne in 1974

Pramukh Swami Maharaj blessed several devotees' homes during his visit in 1974

Pramukh Swami Maharaj initiating a new family into satsang during his visit in 1974

Pramukh Swami Maharaj with devotees of Manchester Satsang Mandal during his visit in 1974

Pramukh Swami Maharaj performing his morning puja during his second visit to Ashton-under-Lyne, in 1977

In 1977, Mayor Percy Travis greeted Pramukh Swami Maharaj at Ashton Town Hall during a civic reception

In 1977, this house on the corner of Cowhill Lane was acquired to host regular satsang activities in Ashton-under-Lyne

Pramukh Swami Maharaj performed the pratishtha ceremony of the murtis at the house on Cowhill Lane on 16 July 1977

The newly consecrated murtis of the small hari mandir on Cowhill Lane

On the occasion of the murti pratishtha festival, Pramukh Swami Maharaj, accompanied by Mahant Swami, was honoured through the town in a horse and carriage procession

On the occasion of the murti pratishtha festival, Pramukh Swami Maharaj also presided over a Vedic yagna in Ashton-under-Lyne

Pramukh Swami Maharaj and Mahant Swami preside over the assembly after the murti pratishtha in 1977

Mahant Swami addressed the assembly after the murti pratishtha in 1977

To accommodate the growing congregation and activities, a disused factory on Russell Street was acquired and renovated in 1980

Pramukh Swami Maharaj's third visit to Ashton-under-Lyne was in 1980, when he was greeted by a devotional street procession

Pramukh Swami Maharaj performed the murti pratishtha ceremony in the newly acquired premises on Russell Street on 28 June 1980

The initial murtis at the new hari mandir of Russell Street, Ashton-under-Lyne

Pramukh Swami Maharaj gracing an assembly in Ashton-under-Lyne in 1980

Pramukh Swami Maharaj performing his morning puja in Ashton-under-Lyne, in 1980

In 1982, Pramukh Swami Maharaj graced Ashton-under-Lyne again, his fourth visit to the town

Pramukh Swami Maharaj in a public assembly in 1982

Pramukh Swami Maharaj graced Ashton-under-Lyne again in 1984, his fifth visit

In 1985, a group of volunteers from Ashton-under-Lyne served during the month-long Cultural Festival of India in London

Pramukh Swami Maharaj arrived in Ashton-under-Lyne for his sixth visit, in 1988

Pramukh Swami Maharaj meeting devotees in Ashton-under-Lyne, in 1988

Pramukh Swami Maharaj performs the arti upon arriving at the hari mandir in 1990, his seventh visit to Ashton-under-Lyne

Pramukh Swami Maharaj addressing a public assembly in Ashton-under-Lyne in 1990

Pramukh Swami Maharaj blessed Ashton-under-Lyne for the eighth time, in 1994, when he arrived to consecrate new marble murtis at the hari mandir

Pramukh Swami Maharaj performed the pratishtha of the new murtis on 14 August 1994

On the occasion of the murti pratishtha mahotsav, a colourful cultural procession was arranged through the streets of Ashton-under-Lyne to allow the sacred images to bless the town

Devotees from around Greater Manchester and other parts of the UK came to participate in the festivities

Pramukh Swami Maharaj also performed a Vedic yagna in Ashton-under-Lyne as part of the murti pratishtha mahotsav

Pramukh Swami Maharaj listening attentively during an assembly in Ashton-under-Lyne, in 1994

Pramukh Swami Maharaj performing his morning walk at the hari mandir in Ashton-under-Lyne, in 1994

Pramukh Swami Maharaj's ninth and final visit to Ashton-under-Lyne was in 2000

Youths devoutly performed a bhajan before Pramukh Swami Maharaj in an assembly during his stay in 2000

A troupe of children pose with Pramukh Swami Maharaj after a performance during his visit in 2000

The Hindu New Year in 2004 was celebrated with an annakut at Tameside Town Hall

Mahant Swami performed the arti of the murtis during a visit to Ashton-under-Lyne in 2011

The murtis in the sinhasan, 2014, before they moved to a new sinhasan

Sadguru Pujya Kothari Swami visited in 2014 and performed the 20th anniversary patotsav ceremony with the devotees

Devotees participate in the mandir's 20th anniversary patotasv ceremony

Pujya Kothari Swami performed the ceremony that welcomed the murtis to their new sinhasan on 31 August 2014

Mahant Swami Maharaj doing darshan of the murtis in their new sinhasan when he visited Ashton-under-Lyne in 2015

On 15 August 2015, Mahant Swami Maharaj visited the newly acquired site in Manchester to bless the land and pray for the new mandir

Mahant Swami Maharaj addressing the devotees at the Russell Street hari mandir, in 2015

Mahant Swami Maharaj meeting local devotees in 2015

Pramukh Swami Maharaj blessed the bricks for the ground-breaking ceremony of the new mandir in Manchester, in Sarangpur, India, on 3 April 2016

On behalf of Pramukh Swami Maharaj, Sadguru Pujya Bhaktipriyadas Swami (Kothari Swami) performed the ground-breaking ceremony at the new site in Manchester, on 31 August 2016

Pujya Kothari Swami places the bricks sanctified by Pramukh Swami Maharaj in the foundations of the new mandir

The 25th anniversary of the mandir, in 2019, was celebrated with a special patotsav ceremony

The 25th anniversary was also celebrated with a series of inspiring and colourful cultural programmes

Mahant Swami Maharaj performed the pratishtha ceremony of the murtis for the new mandir, in Nenpur, India, on 31 December 2020

Mahant Swami Maharaj performed the abhishek and arti of the Nilkanth Varni Maharaj murti for the new mandir, in Nenpur, India, on 4 April 2021

Mahant Swami Maharaj inaugurated the Mandir Mahotsav festivities during his morning puja in Sarangpur, India, on 14 October 2021

Sadguru Pujya Ishwarcharandas Swami performed the murti pratishtha ceremony at the new mandir in Manchester on 17 October 2021 at the behest of Mahant Swami Maharaj

The newly consecrated murtis at the new hari mandir in Manchester, UK