Weight: 798 lbs Diameter: 32.38" Bell 1 of 1
Founded by John Taylor & Co 1880
Dove Bell ID: 50226 Tower ID: 17811 - View Tower Listed: No Canons: Removed Cracked: No
Accrington: St John
Diocese of Blackburn
Church, 603007
http://www.stjohnwithstaugustine.orgOverview
Grid reference: SD 763 290
Visiting and facilities
Building is open for worship
Building
Ground Plan Description and Dimensions
Ground plan:
Five-bay nave with south aisle, transepts, chancel with clergy vestry and chapel, south-east tower with a spire, north-east choir vestry.
Dimensions:
Nave estimated to be c 26m (85ft) x 10m (33ft).
Footprint of Church buildings: 729 m²
Description of Archaeology and History
Accrington has Saxon origins, and is unusual in that it was still held at the time of the Domesday Book (1086) by a Saxon Thegn, Leowine. There was a grange here of Kirkstall Abbey till the Reformation. The settlement developed slowly through the post-medieval period. In the 19th century Accrington rapidly expanded for the textile industry, as with most Lancashire towns. The parish church was built 1864-70 by H Macauley of Accrington. The south-east vestry was added by H Ross of Accrington in 1880. There appears to have been a major refurbishment about 1910.
Exterior Description
Designed in the Early English style with much use of lancets, the church is lofty, its townscape impact maximised by the tall south-west steeple. It is of three stages with a stair turret rising to the belfry stage in the angle to the west, with slit openings and a conical cap. Angle buttresses of four steep weatherings climb to the parapet. The lowest stage has paired lancets in the south face, there is a slit light in the middle stage and the belfry stage has twinned louvred openings with shafted jambs under a hood-mould and a frieze of blind arches. From the moulded parapet, which is enriched with nailhead, rise ornately carved free-standing corner pinnacles on colonnettes beside the octagonal spire.
The main entrance is at the west end, through double doors with a central column supporting a tympanum with the carved emblem of the Evangelist under a banded 2-centred arch. This is flanked by paired lancets each side. Above this is a large plate tracery 3-light plate tracery window flanked by single lancet windows, and a quatrefoil high in the gable.
The roofs are all coped and have moulded kneelers, and there are small plain finial crosses to the gables (some missing). There are cross gables to the south aisle bays with trefoils above 2-light plate tracery windows, as detailed above. Most of the windows are protected by metal wire mesh or polycarbonate sheets.
The north nave wall has 2-light plate tracery windows with cusped lights and trefoils in the head, a simple gabled porch takes up the penultimate bay to the west. The transepts have 3 lancets in their outer gables and two in the side walls, arranged in a row, above this in the gable three sexfoils arranged within a blind pointed arch, the whole giving the impression of plate tracery.
The lower and narrower chancel is simply treated, with the sanctuary lit by a single lancet in the side walls and a 3-light plate tracery window in the east wall. The vestry has a square headed 4-light with cusped lights, and a shouldered doorway.
Interior
Interior Description
Moving inside through modern glazed doors into a glazed inner lobby, there is a gallery at the west end with a pierced panelled front, carried on a pair of thin iron piers and corbels at the corners. The interior is whitewashed, but peeling or completely missing in many places, nevertheless the church is kept clean and in excellent order.
The south aisle has a 3-bay arcade on columns with crocketed capitals, the transept arches have the same motif. The nave is fully pewed. It has a complex cantilevered wagon roof with a collar, and a coffered pointed barrel-vaulted ceiling in the chancel. The pointed chancel arch springs from corbelled shafts, within which is a fine 5-bay filigree wrought iron screen, dated 1911.
There are simple 2-centred pointed arches each side of the chancel arch giving access to what was the organ chamber, but is now an ambulatory. This has a travertine floor. A similar the clergy vestry (the upper part is blind, a smaller doorway is inserted within it), and a shouldered doorway leads from the sanctuary to the latter. The sanctuary features choir stalls, an ornate stone reredos, and a credence desk with carved angel corbel. The floors are carpeted.
The north transept contains a memorial chapel dedicated in 1992 to the 11th Battalion, the “Accrington Pals”, who were all but wiped out on the first day of the Battle of the Somme. This has an altar under a baldacchino, on which the organ stands. The chapel has a Portugese marble floor and fine mahogany bench pews.
Fixtures and fittings
Altar
20th Century Oak table.
Pulpit
20th Century The pulpit is of stone, hexagonal with decorated panels, the whole painted to match the reredos.
Lectern
20th Century Reading stand and panelled wooden reading desk, late 20th century.
Font (component)
20th Century Stone octagonal font.
Stained Glass (window)
20th Century • East window Christ in Majesty flanked by the Evangelists by Lavers, Barraud & Westlake of London, early 20th century • South sanctuary window, Road to Emmaeus by Tom Denny • South chapel window, modern, deeply coloured glass • South transept window, St John by Lavers, Barraud & Westlake • South transept window, St James • South transept, St Augustine by Shrigley & Hunt of Lancaster • South transept, St Deborah, early 20th century • South transept, Bishop Fraser of Manchester, early 20th century, almost photographic representation • West nave window, Tranfiguration of Christ by Shrigley & Hunt of Lancaster • West lobby, modern etched glass • South aisle window, Sermon on the Mount, 1910 • South aisle window, the Good Shepherd, perhaps also Shrigley & Hunt • North transept, St Mary Magdalene, St Mark, King David, later 20th century • North aisle, the Good Samaritan, early 20th century, perhaps by Lavers, Barraud & Westlake • South tower window, St John the Evangelist
Organ (component)
20th Century Two manual organ by Lewis, installed in 1906. Restored by George Sixsmith of Ashton-under-Lyme.
Bells
Churchyard
Grid reference: SD 763 290
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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