St John the Baptist's Church, Bretherton

St John the Baptist's Church is in the village of Bretherton, Lancashire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Chorley, the archdeaconry of Blackburn and the diocese of Blackburn. Its benefice is united with that of St Michael and All Angels, Croston.[1] The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.[2] It was a Commissioners' church, having received a grant towards its construction from the Church Building Commission.[3]

St John the Baptist's Church, Bretherton
St John the Baptist's Church, Bretherton, from the south
St John the Baptist's Church, Bretherton Location in the Borough of Chorley
OS grid reference	SD 476,204
Location	Bretherton, Lancashire
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Website	St John the Baptist, Bretherton
History
Status	Parish church
Founded	1839
Dedication	St John the Baptist
Consecrated	July 1840
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade II
Designated	30 January 1987
Architect(s)	Edmund Sharpe Austin and Paley
Architectural type	Church
Style	Gothic Revival
Groundbreaking	1839
Completed	1909
Construction cost	£1,058 (£100,000 in 2019)
Specifications
Materials	Sandstone, slate roofs
Administration
Parish	Bretherton
Deanery	Chorley
Archdeaconry	Blackburn
Diocese	Blackburn
Province	York
Clergy
Rector	Revd D. J. Reynolds
Laity
Reader(s)	Miss J. Maggs, Stanley Hazlewood
Organist(s)	Mrs Lesley Moulton
Churchwarden(s)	John Hart, Sheila Williams

History

St John's was a Commissioners' church costing £1,058 (equivalent to £100,000 in 2019).[4] The Church Building Commission contributed £250 towards its cost.[3] It was designed by the Lancaster architect Edmund Sharpe and built in 1839–40.[5] The land was given by George Arthur Legh Keck. The church provided seating for 400 people.[3] In July 1840 it was consecrated by Rt Revd John Bird Sumner, at that time the Bishop of Chester.[5] The church was restored in 1898 by Sharpe's successors Austin and Paley,[6] who also added a chancel and vestry in 1908–09.[7] In September 2009 the church was damaged by fire caused by an arsonist.[8]

Architecture

The church is constructed in sandstone with slate roofs. Its plan consists of a five-bay nave incorporating a south porch, and a two-bay chancel under a higher roof. The style of the nave is "simple Gothic", while that of the chancel is Perpendicular. At the west end is a slender tower, the lowest stage of which constitutes a porch that is open on three sides. Above this are three string courses, the top one of which is stepped over the bell opening. At the corners are buttresses that rise to form crocketted pinnacles. At the top of the tower between the pinnacles is a stepped parapet. A slim octagonal spire rises from the tower. The porch has an arched doorway over which is a lancet window. Its top is gabled and has a cross finial. The east window has five lights and Perpendicular tracery. Inside the church is a west gallery supported on four slim iron columns.[2] The two-manual organ was built by Ainscough Organ Builders of Preston in 1929, and rebuilt and extended by David Wells of Liverpool in 2000.[9]

External features

The churchyard contains the war grave of a Loyal Regiment soldier of World War I.[10]

See also

• Listed buildings in Bretherton
• List of architectural works by Edmund Sharpe
• List of ecclesiastical works by Austin and Paley (1895–1914)
• List of Commissioners' churches in Northeast and Northwest England

Gallery

• 
  Interior – view towards altar
• 
  Interior – view towards rear
• 
  The font
• 
  Clock
• 
  Stained glass window
• 
  The organ

References

Citations

1. St John the Baptist, Bretherton, Church of England, retrieved 27 July 2011
2. Historic England, "Church of St John the Evangelist, Bretherton (1362115)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 27 May 2012
3. Brandwood et al. (2012), p. 211
4. 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
5. Hughes (2010), p. 138
6. Brandwood et al. (2012), p. 242
7. Brandwood et al. (2012), p. 247
8. Johnson, Mark (1 October 2009), "Yobs destroy pulpit at John the Baptist Church in Bretherton and St Michael's CE Church in Much Hoole", Ormskirk Advertiser, Ormskirk: Trinity Mirror North West & North Wales, retrieved 3 April 2010
9. Lancashire, Bretherton – St. John the Baptist, British Institute of Organ Studies, retrieved 3 April 2010
10. BRETHERTON (ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST) CHURCHYARD, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, retrieved 13 February 2013

Sources

• Brandwood, Geoff; Austin, Tim; Hughes, John; Price, James (2012), The Architecture of Sharpe, Paley and Austin, Swindon: English Heritage, ISBN 978-1-84802-049-8
• Hughes, John M. (2010), Edmund Sharpe: Man of Lancaster, John M. Hughes