New Springs: St John the baptist
Diocese of Liverpool
Church, 622246
Victorian/Pre-WW1
Overview
Grid reference: SD 602 69
The church was designed by James Medland and Henry Taylor to replace a tin church on a different site. The foundation stone was laid in 1896 and the church opened in 1897.
Visiting and facilities
Building is open for worship
Building
Ground Plan Description and Dimensions
Ground plan:
West tower. Aisleless nave with north porch. Chancel with south chapel and north vestries and organ chamber.
Dimensions:
Red, brown and blue bricks with some stone surrounds. Blue-grey slate roof tiles.
Description of Archaeology and History
New Springs was an industrial settlement on the banks of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. Top Lock - a flight of 13 locks and bridges built in 1816 for the Leeds and Liverpool Canal - is a short distance to the east. Other archaeological records relate to the collieries and ironworks which once dominated the area.
The need for a new church was raised by Rev Aldworth, vicar of Haigh, in 1865. He established services in the Sawmills until the Dowager Countess of Crawford (the Crawfords lived at Haigh Hall from 1808 until 1947 and were local benefactors) provided for a temporary iron church which was dedicated in 1871. It was intended to be in use for only several years but construction of a permanent building was delayed by the depression. A renewed fundraising campaign began in 1890 with generous support from the Earl of Crawford, and the Hewletts of the Wigan Coal and Iron Company, and with the help of an ICBS grant of £75. The old church was sold for £40.
The new mission church was designed by James Medland [1834-1909] and Henry Taylor [1837-1916], (brothers whose architectural practice was based in Manchester, with a wigan builder Mr C Butler Holmes. The cost of construction was £5230. A foundation stone was laid in the east wall by Emily, countess of Crawford, in 1896. The church was consecrated in 1897, as recorded by a stone inside. New Springs was established as a separate parish in 1953. In 2005 the west end was partitioned off and kitchen and WCs installed.
The site of the former church school, to the south of the curtilage, has been redeveloped with housing.
The archaeological potential of the site is low. There are no known designations relating to the ecology of the plot.
Exterior Description
At first simple in appearance, and quite oppressive given the dark brick work, but on examination quite a lively composition with unusual play on conventional details. Different tones of brickwork are used to enliven the surface, a brighter red brick used for the surrounds, ‘tracery’ and a stepped cornice, blue bricks in a diamond arrangement to the upper walls. Many of the windows are protected by polycarbonate sheets. Projecting eaves. Original iron hopperheads dated 1897 survive, though with a mixture of downpipes.
At the west end two-light pointed lancets sit under round-headed surrounds. Remembrance plaques are fixed to the lower wall. A small campanile-like tower, projects away from and above the centre of the west wall. The brickwork at its base is striped. The upper level juts out on corbels, with louvred openings above. The tower terminates with a two-stage pyramid roof. The pitched roof of the nave appears like clasping aisles either side the tower. The chancel roof rises higher than the nave and has an iron cross at the chancel crossing and terracotta cross above the east gable. Clerestory windows are only present within the south chancel wall. The east wall has a date stone set low in the wall. The three-light east window suggests perpendicular design.
The north vestry has different windows again, and a north door accessed up several steps. A chimney projects from the roof. A boiler room is accessed from the west side beneath it. The north and south nave windows are mostly of three lancets, the middle lancet being tallest. The westernmost window of the north aisle is different and displays a sort of intersecting tracery, formed in brick. Irregularly placed buttresses. Boarded timber doors with good ironmongery.
Building Fabric and Features
Tower (component)
19th century west
Nave
19th century aisleless
Porch
19th century north
Chancel
19th century
Chapel (component)
19th century south
Vestry
19th century north
Organ (component)
19th century chamber
Building Materials
Brick
19th century red brown and blue
Stone
19th century surrounds
Slate
19th century blue-grey roof tiles
Interior
Interior Description
The north porch has a tiled floor, some of which include words and text. Good wood doors with leaded lights in the upper parts, open into the west end of the church. The west end has been partitioned, by a glazed wood screen, to form a separate carpeted area with kitchen and WCs in the south-west corner. The font has been relocated from the baptistery, in the base of the west tower, to the east end of the nave.
A wide open aisleless nave with uninterrupted views up to the chancel. The walls are of exposed Ruabon brick with red facings, terracotta sills and some stone dressings. The roof is of hammer-beam form and, though it is difficult to discern, has text inscribed along the purlins. The level nave floor is laid with herringbone wood blocks in the aisles, with pine benches with simple ends, fixed to pew boards either side. Three-light windows in the north and south walls with brick transoms.
The north-east and south-east corner of the nave, leading into the vestries and chapel respectively, are at an angle, cutting across the corners between the nave and the chancel. That to the north side has wood panelling beneath with the organ pipes above, the pipe mouths are arranged in an upward curve. The pipes continue along the north side of the chancel. To the south a wood screen (matching that below the organ pipes in north-east angle) marks the entrance to the Lady Chapel. To the left of the entrance way on the stone pillar, obscured by the screen (screen possibly inserted 1923), is a carved inscription recording the consecration of the church in 1897. The walls of the chapel are plastered and painted. The wall behind the altar at the east end has a narrow strip of vertical wood panelling (c.1923) with above it a strip of tiles bearing text. The wall either side are finished with rectangular tiles upto dado height. A squint peers through from this altar to the high altar. The chancel, which is to the north side of the chapel, is raised by three steps and a wood screen with open tracery extends between the arcades to separate them.
The chancel is raised from the nave by three steps and delineated by a low brick wall with stone top. The wall projects outs on the north side to form the base of the pulpit. Tiles with text on are incorporated into the brickwork. A simple scrolling wrought-iron chancel screen, likely to have been by Taylor, spans the width. The chancel has three bay arcades, formed of pink stone columns to either side. The organ pipes continue in the first span on the north side, with the second filled by a wood screen with a doorway through to the vestry. A subtle detail is easily missed on the north side where a locust has been carved into one of the capitals. Pine choir stalls with minimal decoration face each other on either side. The floor area between them and up to the altar, is carpeted, with no suggestion of the floor surface beneath.
The sanctuary is raised by two steps, with the altar raised by another three. The wall behind the altar is wood panelled. The third span of the arcade is blank to north and south, and the piers of brick not stone.
Fixtures and fittings
Altar
19th century High altar- solid oak, plain
Altar
20th century Lady Chapel altar - solid oak table, c 1923
Reredos
19th century east wall panelled with stone, central section with relief carved Agnus Dei
Pulpit
19th century ambone-line, built into chancel wall, octagonal pine within iron surround
Lectern
20th century brass eagle, plaque records its gift 1959
Font (component)
19th century simple octagonal stone, relocated from iron church, flat wood cover
Rail
19th century metal uprights, wooden rail
Stained Glass
19th century east window - single pane - Christ's Baptism, designed and apparently given by Heaton, Butler and Bayne, 1897 (restored 1995)
Stained Glass
20th century east window, south chapel - Christ and Lamb - by Jones and WIllis, memorial to John Christopher, d.1923
Plaque (component)
19th / 20th century Various brasses and memorial plaques; marble and alabaster memorial tablet on south wall, 1917 in memory of Thomas Fairhurst.
Organ (component)
20th century 2 manual, Compton Makin Ltd, Rochdale organ
Portable Furnishings and Artworks
Marriage registers from 1947.
Churchyard
Grid reference: SD 602 69
Burial and War Grave Information
It is unknown whether the building is consecrated.
It is unknown whether the churchyard has been used for burial.
It is unknown whether the churchyard is used for burial.
It is unknown whether the churchyard has war graves.
National Heritage record for England designations
There are no records of National Heritage assets within the curtilage of this site.
Environment
Ancient, Veteran & Notable Trees
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
There are no records of Ancient, Veteran or Notable Trees within the curtilage of this site.
Renewables
| Renewable | Installed |
|---|---|
| Solar PV Panels | No |
| Solar Thermal Panels | No |
| Biomass | No |
| Wind Turbine | No |
| Air Source Heat Pump | No |
| Ground Source Heat Pump | No |
| Ev Charging | No |
Species summary
There are no records of species within the curtilage of this site.
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
'Seek advice' Species
More information on species and action to be taken upon discovery.
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
Further information
Sources
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