Diameter: 29" Bell 1 of 1
Founded by Peter van den I Ghein 1537
Dove Bell ID: 16022 Tower ID: 11631 - View Tower Listed: No Canons: Removed Cracked: No
Church Kirk: St James
Overview
Grid reference: SD 741 290
Medieval tower, Georgian nave and Victorian chancel apparently founded in 642. The oldest part of the existing church is the tower. The date has not been established with certainty but is considered to be from 1284. The nave was rebuilt in 1804 (as was nearby St James Accrington which shows similarities in style), north-west vestry added in 1806, and redecorated 1881. The chancel was built c 1869, and rebuilt with a vestry in 1895-6.
Visiting and facilities
Building is closed for worship
Building
Ground Plan Description and Dimensions
Ground plan:
West tower. North-west vestry. 5-bay galleried nave. Screen at west end of nave. 3-bay chancel with north organ chamber (former vicar’s vestry).
Dimensions:
Nave estimated to be c 25m x 12.5m (81 ft 6” x 41ft), chancel 9m x 7.8m (30ft x 25ft 9”)
Footprint of Church buildings: 551 m²
Description of Archaeology and History
The site is noted in the Conservation Area Appraisal as a site of archaeological interest recorded by the Lancashire Sites and Monuments Record.
Archaeological databases mark several features in proximity to the church including Aspen Colliery, a Scheduled Ancient Monument, located to the SW. The site includes the upstanding remains of engine beds and capped mineshafts, with 24 brick ad stone beehive coking ovens. Also, to the south-east the site of the Pre C15th Lower Antley Mansion. Also weaving mills.
There were 17th-century weaver’s cottages to the south of the church, now replaced by 20th-century terraces.
It is reputed that a wooden church stood on the site since 642. There was certainly a chapel here by 1296 and the tower, though dates are various, is commonly dated 1284 and is the oldest structure in Church.
The churchyard is heavily buried on all sides. There are C18th century stones visible.
A sundial, now lost, is recorded in the church history booklet.
Church grew rapidly during the industrialisation of East Lancashire textile towns in the 19th century. The canal (arrived 1807-8) was central to its growth with mills, works, warehouses and wharves developing along its banks. The inventor of the spinning Jenny, James Hargreaves, was a local man and Church was involved in the development of calico printing in the late C18th and early C19th and associated industries of bleach, chemicals dyes, soap and engraving. The East Lancashire Railway arrived in Church in 1848.
The history of the church is complex and at times confused, with different dates given for various phases. Nearby 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. Church Kirk claims a yet older ancestry, tracing its origins to a supposed camp-over by St Oswald, King of Northumbria, during which legend has it he founded a wooden church on this site in 642 before marching off to his death in battle at Oswestry. There was apparently a well at the east end of the churchyard traditionally known as St Oswald’s well. Until the Reformation the church had an altar dedicated to St Oswald. It may also be noted that nearby Oswaltwistle traditionally owes its name to this Saint.
Whatever the historical truth behind this belief (the date 642 is given in the QIR and DAC report), it is possible that there is an earlier church under the present one. It is also possible that the church, then a chapel, is one of those mentioned in the area in Domesday, but this is unproved. The place-name Chirche appears first at the end of the 12th century by which time there was a manor house here, a minister is recorded from 1220. The settlement developed slowly through the medieval period, and was always part of Whalley parish, from the 13th century to the Reformation under the Abbey there, as opposed to Accrington under Kirkstall Abbey. A date of 1284 is traditionally maintained for the construction of the tower, there are references to repairs in 1335 and 1545 and again in 1763, the architectural details are Perpendicular and of the 15th or early 16th century.
The rest of the church has been completely rebuilt in two main phases. The nave was rebuilt in 1804, an identical date to the rebuild of Accrington St James, which is similar in appearance and history. The north-west vestry was added in 1806. The tower was restored in 1844 with pinnacles added. The chancel was built in 1869 (or perhaps 1879), and rebuilt with a vicar’s vestry in 1895-6 (now the organ chamber). The chapel became a parish church in 1866 as Church Kirk rapidly expanded. A general reordering and redecoration took place in 1881, when nave benches and other furniture by the local carpenter’s firm Pilkingtons was introduced. The nave window tracery is probably also by them. The architects involved were the local Waddington’s practice.
An explosion at a nearby factory c.1915/16 caused much damage to the south side, destroying the stained glass windows. The tower was repaired following a fire c.1982, with a new ring of bells to replace those cracked in the fire.
The site is located within the Church Canalside Conservation Area. There are trees along the south boundary.
Exterior Description
The embattled 4-stage south-west tower is constructed from massive stone blocks. Corner pinnacles shown in 19th-century photographs have been lost. Some gargoyles. It is built of uncoursed roughly-hewn blocks of weathered golden sandstone, which exudes a raw antiquity and contrasts strongly with the smooth coursing of the nave and chancel. It has diagonal (west) and angle (east) buttresses, and dripcourses above and below the belfry. There is a low rectangular west door with moulded jambs and lintel and a gabled hoodmould. Above this is a blocked 3-light Perpendicular window also with a gabled hoodmould. There are similar but smaller openings to 3 sides of the belfry (clock on south side), and various small single-light openings to light the stairs.
The nave is a long block with a low-pitched roof. The stone is laid in water-shot style, a regional technique to aid evaporation of moisture from the stone, and giving a sawtooth profile. Ventillation gaps at base. The nave has two tiers of round-headed windows with dressed window surrounds and imposts and keystones, containing later 2-light ogival-headed wooden tracery; reminiscent of the tracery at Accrington St James. Many of the windows protected by grates or polycarbonate. There is a doorway in the south wall in the western bay with a segmental arched head and hoodmould with carved headstops. Another discrete doorway is located on the east elevation of the nave in the south-east corner. There is a lean-to vestry on the north side of the tower with a 3-light in the north wall with a transom, pointed lights within a square frame, blind depressed arch above. Diagonal buttress of two weatherings and raised coping.
The chancel contrasts in style with the nave. It is narrower, rock-faced, and the roof is lower but much more steeply pitched. Stone cross finial above east gable. The south wall has buttresses of two weatherings between three pointed arched 2-light Decorated tracery windows with hoodmoulds. There is a similar 5-light in the east wall, which is articulated with blind ogee arches to the shoulders and a decorated cill band under the window. Plinth below. There is only a single 2-light window in the north wall with hoodmould and foliate stops. The elevation is mostly taken up by a projecting blocky windowless vestry with a hipped roof, which awkwardly wraps around the chancel and nave.
Building Fabric and Features
Tower (component)
13th century Dates from 1284.
Nave
19th century Georgian rebuild
Chancel
19th century Victorian
Vestry
19th century added in 1806
Building Materials
Sandstone
19th century coursed
Sandstone
13th century uncoursed
Slate
19th century roof
Painted Plaster
19th century interior
Sandstone
16th Century
Lower Coal Measures Sandstone
Welsh Slate
16th Century
Welsh Slate
Interior
Interior Description
The tower is only accessible from the external west tower door. From within it the tower arch can be seen, blocked with bricks, broad and pointed, clearly late medieval.
The interior of the church divides into three parts, the vestibule/narthex, nave and chancel. The vestibule is divided from the nave by a partly glazed oak Gothic screen, installed as a war memorial, and is situated beneath the west end of the gallery. The west wall is blind and plastered over. The vestibule contains an old, probably late medieval chest and an ancient bell, see below. A pair of reflected staircases against the west wall provide access to the gallery which extends around 3 sides. Black and red quarry tiles pave the floor with metal grates along the centre, north-south.
East of the vestibule is the nave with a 3-sided painted wood gallery with traceried panels, carried on octagonal iron columns with panelled faces (painted white) and decorated capitals. Raked ceilings to north and south aisles, beneath the galleries. Walls plastered and painted though still exposed in large areas where repairs were made some time ago. Flat and panelled ceiling with suspended lights in the centre. Panelled benches with varied carved tracery on the ends. There are fine dark-stained bench pews on raised pew platforms in the nave and in the galleries, with moulded and carved ends. A row of pews has been removed at the east end and the pew frontals (with attached buttress detail) replaced. Tiled aisles (red and black quarries) with carpet at the west end and some metal grates. Altar at east end of north aisle. Glazed timber lobby in south-east corner around door. Windows mostly clear rectangular panes, some coloured glass in upper lights.
The chancel arch is of two plain orders, the inner taken down to consoles. The pulpit is raised on a stone platform beneath to the north side with the priest’s desk on the opposite side. The chancel is High Victorian with a painted ribbed wooden barrel vault roof in the mirroring position. A fine figurative mosaic reredos across the east wall and a huge stained glass window above provide a colourful focus. There is one step to the chancel and one further to the sanctuary, with mosaic floors with borders and red carpet in the sanctuary. A brass plaque records the laying of the pavement within the chancel dedicated to Rocco Camozza in 1895. The choir stalls and other furniture is of good quality with oak panels and carved ends. There is a large arch in the north wall with the organ chamber, the pipes are exposed.
Fixtures and fittings
Altar
19th century Light stained pitched pine chest with pierced quatrefoils, given 1895 in memory of Sarah Candlin, with the choir stalls. Oak chest in north chapel (inscribed in memory of Alice Dorethea Newman, 1921), of a piece with the ornate reredos above).
Pulpit
19th century The octagonal pulpit is of light oak, with open tracery panels, and corner buttresses. Said to have once had a tester. Dated 1850.
Lectern
19th century Oak, tracery front and poppy head finials, 1881.
Font (component)
14th century Probably late medieval octagonal font with blank shields in the faces, lead-lined bowl.
Reredos
20th century Carved stone reredos with applied opus sectile mosaic by Powell's of Whitefriars, depicting Christ in Majesty flanked by Christ blessing the children, raising Jarius's daughter. Installed 1909 given by the Gatty family of Elmfield Hall as recorded by brass plaque on north wall.
Bench (seat)
19th century Fixed stained pine benches on raised platforms, 1881.
Stall
19th century Good quality oak choir stalls installed 1895 as recorded by a brass plaque, in memory of Sarah Candlin, with altar table.
Rail
19th century Oak, open tracery with paired standards.
Organ (component)
19th century Three manual pipe organ, installed 1815 by Renn, rebuilt and englarged 1849 by Gray and Davidson, moved to new chancel and rebuilt 1894 by Hardy & Son of Stockport as recorded by a plaque.
Plaque (component)
19th century Several brass plaques.
Inscribed Object
19th century Several marble tablets: • White marble tablet on black ground, in memory of James Howarth d. 1849, by Millers & Co Salford, N aisle. • White marble tablet on black ground with sarcophagus and books above, flanking volutes, swags at base. In memory of Mary Halstead d.1824 and John Halstead d.1835 by Websters, Kendal, N aisle. Refers to a vault. • Simple white marble tablet with arch-headed black ground in the north aisle chapel, in memory of the Rev John Swainson d.1824, N aisle. • White marble rectangular tablet with drapery and black ground in memory of James Simpson JP, died 1847. S wall. Inscribed Marble Work, Esher Street, Westminster. • White marble oval tablet with drapery and black ground, angel at base. In memory of John Green d.1855 and Elizabeth his wife, d.1846, by Patteson, Manchester. S wall.
Screen
20th century Carved wooden vestibule screen has panels inscribed with the names of the fallen in World War I & II
Stained Glass (window)
19th / 20th century • East window – 5 lights, depicts the Life and Passion of Christ, Crucifixion in the central light. A brass plaque records its gift by the children of Joseph Barnes, d.1861, and Mary Barnes d.1865. Attributed by Dr Moat (CBC) to Michael and Arthur O’Connor, a major midC19th London studio, good work; • North chancel - 2-light window depicting St Oswald and St Martin. Very poorly repaired following vandalism, c. 1915; • South chancel - various saints, including St James, St Christopher, St Nicholas, Virgin Mary. Pevsner says by B D Walmsley 1927. A plaque records that the windows were erected in 1927 as a replacement for those blown out by an explosion during the Great War. • North wall, 2-lights - St John the Baptist, God is light and in him is no darkness. In memory of William and Margaret Foulds, 1968; • North wall, 2-lights and another with Noli mi tangere, in memory of James Grimshaw d.1915, erected 1923. • South aisle - two 2-light windows by Morris & Co designed by E Burne Jones depicting the Four Evangelists, originally installed c.1891. Both were destroyed in an explosion in 1914, and remade by the company in 1918. Matthew and Mark were originally painted by Bowman, and Luke and John by Dearle with trees by Stokes. The second set were by Titcomb, Knight and Watson. A brass plaque next to one reads in memory of Burton and Martha Wilkinson and brothers, of Enfield House, who are buried in a family vault in the churchyard. Another brass plaque records the windows installation in memory of William Wilkinson and his son.
Bells
Portable Furnishings and Artworks
Registers dating from 1633 held at Lancashire Record Office.
Churchyard
Grid reference: SD 741 290
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.
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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