Christ Church, Bacup
Christ Church is in Beech Street, off Todmorden Road, Bacup, Lancashire, England. It is a former Anglican parish church in the deanery of Rossendale, the archdeaconry of Bolton and the diocese of Manchester.[1] The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.[2]
Christ Church, Bacup | |
---|---|
Christ Church, Bacup, from the southeast | |
Christ Church, Bacup Location in the Borough of Rossendale | |
OS grid reference | SD 873,233 |
Location | Beech Street, Bacup, Lancashire |
Country | English |
Denomination | Anglican |
Website | Christ Church, Bacup |
History | |
Status | Parish church |
Architecture | |
Heritage designation | Grade II |
Designated | 30 November 1984 |
Architect(s) | Sharpe and Paley |
Architectural type | Church |
Style | Gothic Revival |
Completed | 1854 |
Construction cost | Over £3,000 |
Specifications | |
Materials | Sandstone rubble, slate roof |
Administration | |
Parish | Christ Church, Bacup |
Deanery | Rossendale |
Archdeaconry | Bolton |
Diocese | Manchester |
Province | York |
Clergy | |
Vicar(s) | Rev D. Woodall |
History
The church was built in 1854, and paid for from the legacy of a local manufacturer, James Heyworth. It was designed by the Lancaster firm of architects Sharpe and Paley. The church cost over £3,000 (equivalent to £280,000 in 2019),[3] and contained seating for 500 people.[4][5] In 2012 it was decided that the church will close, and its congregation will share the premises of the Central Methodist Church.[6] Its last service was held on 26 August 2012, and it was thereafter closed.[7]
Architecture
Exterior
Christ Church is constructed in sandstone rubble with a slate roof. Its architectural style is Gothic Revival. The plan consists of a southwest tower, a four-bay nave with north and south aisles, a porch, and a clerestory, and a two-bay chancel. The tower is in three stages and has diagonal buttresses rising halfway up the tower. At its southeast corner is a polygonal stair turret rising to a greater height than the tower and surmounted by a pinnacled lantern. It has a three-light west window in the lowest stage with smaller three-light windows in the middle stage on the west and south sides. The top stage contains two-light bell openings and at the top is a plain parapet. At the west end of the body of the church are triple two-light windows with a wheel window above them in the gable. At the east end is a triple lancet window.[2]
Interior
The reredos is in stone with blind arcades, crockets, and images of faces. The pulpit is in a similar style.[2][4] The church contains a pair of stained glass windows by Shrigley and Hunt.[4]
Future
After 8 years of closure, the Chruch of England is currently in the process of selling the building, for the purpose of conversion into offices,[8] to local digital marketing agency GrowTraffic.[9][10]
References
- Christ Church, Bacup, Church of England, archived from the original on 29 September 2009, retrieved 27 June 2010
- Historic England, "Christ Church, Bacup (1072858)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 10 May 2011
- UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
- Hartwell, Clare; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2009) [1969], Lancashire: North, The Buildings of England, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, p. 90, ISBN 978-0-300-12667-9
- Brandwood, Geoff; Austin, Tim; Hughes, John; Price, James (2012), The Architecture of Sharpe, Paley and Austin, Swindon: English Heritage, p. 216, ISBN 978-1-84802-049-8
- Cornall, Vanessa (30 March 2012), "End of an era as Bacup's last Church of England church closes", Lancashire Telegraph, Newsquest (Northwest), retrieved 1 June 2012
- https://dove.cccbr.org.uk/detail.php?DoveID=BACUP+CHCH
- "Bacup Christ Church Combined Paper" (PDF). Church of England.
- "Christ Church Part 2 - GrowTraffic Now Want To Bring The Church Back Into Use As Offices". Peter Dunn, Facebook.
- "About GrowTraffic". Growtraffic.