St John the Evangelist's Church, Worsthorne

St John the Evangelist's Church, Worsthorne

St John the Evangelist's Church, Worsthorne,
from the west
St John the Evangelist's Church, Worsthorne
Location in the Borough of Burnley
Coordinates: 53°47′16″N 2°11′21″W / 53.7878°N 2.1892°W / 53.7878; -2.1892
OS grid reference SD 876,324
Location Church Street, Worsthorne, Lancashire
Country England
Denomination Anglican
Website St John the Evangelist, Worsthorne
History
Dedication John the Evangelist
Architecture
Status Parish church
Functional status Active
Heritage designation Grade II
Designated 17 December 1968
Architect(s) Lewis Vulliamy
W. B. Colbram
Austin and Paley
Architectural type Church
Style Gothic Revival
(Early English)
Groundbreaking 1834
Completed 1902
Specifications
Materials Sandstone, slate roofs
Administration
Parish St John the Evangelist, Worsthorne
Deanery Burnley
Archdeaconry Burnley
Diocese Blackburn
Province York
Clergy
Vicar(s) Revd Keith Henshall
Laity
Churchwarden(s) Pamela Pomeroy
Barbara Wharton
Parish administrator Linda Smith

St John the Evangelist's Church is in Church Street in the village of Worsthorne, Lancashire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Burnley, the archdeaconry of Burnley, and the diocese of Blackburn.[1] The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.[2]

History

The church was built in 1834–35 to a design by Lewis Vulliamy, and the chancel was added in 1894 by W. B. Colbram.[3] In 1903–04 the Lancaster architects Austin and Paley built the west tower, and removed old vestries at the west end extending the seating.[4] Financial contributions to all stages of the building were made by the local colliery-owning families of Hargreaves and Thursby. The chapelry district of Saint John, Worsthorne was assigned in 1843.[5] The galleries were removed in 1902, followed by the internal plasterwork in 1929. The interior of the church was partitioned in 1973 to make rooms in two storeys at the west end.[2]

Architecture

St John's is constructed in sandstone with slate roofs. Its architectural style is Early English. The plan consists of a five-bay nave, a chancel, and a west tower. The tower is in three stages, the upper two stages being set back. At the corners are clasping pilaster-straps, and the plain parapet is further set back. The bottom stage contains an arched west doorway, above which is a pair of lancet windows. Five steps lead up to the doorway, with a wrought iron handrail on the left side.[2] The handrail was designed by Brian Rourke in 1979, and is decorated with representations of local industry.[3] The middle stage of the tower contains small chamfered windows on each side, and a clock face on the west side. The top stage has louvred, arched bell openings, and roundels containing quatrefoils. The bays of the nave are separated by shallow buttresses, and each bay contains a large lancet window.[2] The east window consists of three equal lancets.[3] The east window and the windows in the tower contain stained glass designed by George Wragge, and date from the 1930s.[3]

External features

The churchyard contains the war graves of two soldiers of World War I, and a soldier of World War II.[6]

See also

References

  1. St John the Evangelist, Worsthorne, Church of England, retrieved 3 January 2012
  2. 1 2 3 4 Historic England, "Church of St John the Evangelist, Worsthorne-with-Hurstwood (1205660)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 3 January 2012
  3. 1 2 3 4 Hartwell, Clare; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2009) [1969], Lancashire: North, The Buildings of England, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, p. 710, ISBN 978-0-300-12667-9
  4. Brandwood, Geoff; Austin, Tim; Hughes, John; Price, James (2012), The Architecture of Sharpe, Paley and Austin, Swindon: English Heritage, p. 245, ISBN 978-1-84802-049-8
  5. The London Gazette: no. 20183. p. 3. 3 January 1843. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  6. WORSTHORNE (ST. JOHN) CHURCHYARD, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, retrieved 17 February 2013
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