St John the Baptist's Church, Atherton | |
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The Parish Church of St John the Baptist, Atherton | |
![]() Tower of St John the Baptist's Church, Atherton | |
53°31′26″N2°29′25″W / 53.5239°N 2.4902°W | |
OS grid reference | SD 676,031 |
Location | Market Place, Atherton, Greater Manchester |
Country | England |
Denomination | Anglican |
Website | Parish Website |
History | |
Status | Parish Church |
Founded | 1645 |
Dedication | St John the Baptist |
Consecrated | 1879 (present church) |
Architecture | |
Functional status | Active |
Heritage designation | Grade II |
Designated | 15 July 1966 |
Architect(s) | Paley and Austin Paley, Austin and Paley |
Architectural type | Church |
Style | Gothic Revival |
Groundbreaking | 1878 |
Completed | 1896 |
Construction cost | £10,000 (first phase) |
Specifications | |
Materials | Stone, tiled roofs |
Administration | |
Province | York |
Diocese | Manchester |
Archdeaconry | Salford |
Deanery | Leigh |
Parish | Atherton and Hindsford |
Clergy | |
Vicar(s) | Revd. Tracy Marshall |
St John the Baptist's Church is in Market Place, Atherton, Greater Manchester, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the archdeaconry of Salford, and diocese of Manchester. [1] Together with St George's and St Philip's Churches in Atherton and St Michael and All Angels at Howe Bridge, the church is part of the United Benefice of Atherton and Hindsford with Howe Bridge. [2] It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building. [3]
There have been three chapels or churches on the site of St John the Baptist parish church. The first chapel at Chowbent was built in 1645 by John Atherton as a chapel of ease of Leigh Parish Church. It was sometimes referred to as the Old Bent Chapel. [4] It was not consecrated and used by the Presbyterians as well as the Vicar of Leigh. In 1721 Lord of the manor Richard Atherton expelled the dissenters who subsequently built Chowbent Chapel. The first chapel was consecrated in 1723 by the Bishop of Sodor and Man. [5]
The first chapel was replaced by a new St John's Chapel on the same site which was consecrated by the Bishop of Chester in 1814. [5] It was in turn replaced by the present church, designed by the Lancaster architects Paley and Austin. It was built in two phases. The chancel and first three bays of the nave were built in 1878–79, [6] and consecrated in 1879. [5] The cost was £10,000 (equivalent to £1,280,000 in 2023), [7] of which £3,200 was given by the colliery owners Fletcher, Burrows and Company. [8] The west end, which included a modified version of the southwest tower 120 feet (37 m) high, was completed between 1890 and 1896 by the successors in the Lancaster practice, Paley, Austin and Paley. [9]
From 1899 the church was affected by mining subsidence, causing the tower to separate from the south aisle. The tower has been stabilised, but remains out of alignment and is leaning. In 1991 the east end of the church was badly damaged by fire. It was repaired and re-ordered by Peter Skinner in 1996–97; [10] the re-ordering included dividing the chancel from the rest of the church to create a church hall. [10] [11]
The church is constructed in Runcorn sandstone with ashlar dressings and a tiled roof. [12] Its architectural style is that of the late Decorated period. The plan consists of a five-bay nave with a clerestory, north and south aisles, a two-bay chancel with a north chapel and a south two-storey vestry and organ chamber, and a southwest tower. The tower is in five stages with octagonal buttresses at each corner, which rise above the parapet to form turrets with conical caps. The parapet is embattled. [10] The doorway is on the south side of the tower, and above it is a four-light window. There are clock faces in the fourth stage, and the bell openings in the top stage have four lights. Above each bell opening is a statue in a canopied niche. On the south side of the church the windows have four lights, while those on the north side have three lights. [3] Along the clerestory are square windows, two to a bay, which contain two different types of tracery. [10] [11] To the east of the vestry and organ chamber is an octagonal turret. [3] The west and east windows are large, the west window having seven lights, and the east window six. [10] Under the east window is red and buff chequerwork carved with roses, the IHC christogram, leaves and swords. [11] The hour-chiming clock was installed by Potts of Leeds in 1895. [13]
The interior is in Stourton stone with a Yorkshire stone floor. The nave has a hammerbeam roof. The arcades are carried on clustered piers. The former intricately carved chancel screen now acts as a reredos behind the altar at the east end of the nave. The stone pulpit, which contains marble panels with niches depicting scenes from the life of Christ in semi-relief, is a memorial to the Rt Revd James Fraser, Bishop of Manchester, who died in 1885. The octagonal font is in alabaster and is decorated with panels. Box pews, one of which is dated 1728, have been re-used as dado panelling in the vestry. In the nave are lamps designed by Peter Skinner. The stained glass in the east window, dated 1896, is by C. E. Kempe, and a window in the south aisle contains glass by Ward and Hughes dating from 1895. In another south aisle window is glass from 1922 by Edward Moore, which has been moved from the north chapel. The rest of the windows have been re-glazed after the 1991 fire with clear glass. [10] The two-manual pipe organ was built in 1967 by Hill, Norman and Beard, [14] replacing an earlier three-manual organ of 1888 by J. C. Bishop and Son. [15]
The church was designated as a Grade II listed building on 15 July 1966. [3] Grade II is the lowest of the three gradings given by English Heritage, and includes buildings that "are nationally important and of special interest". [16] The description in the National Heritage List for England states that it is "an imposing building which exhibits fine craftsmanship both inside and out". [3] The authors of the Buildings of England series describe the church as "monumental, one of Paley & Austin's best", and state that the tower is "magnificently monumental". [10] Brandwood et al. in their book on the architectural practice of Sharpe, Paley and Austin agree that it is "one of Paley & Austin's finest churches". [17]
St George's Church is in Buxton Road, Heaviley, an area of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Stockport, the archdeaconry of Macclesfield, and the diocese of Chester. Its benefice is united with that of St Gabriel, Adswood. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building. The authors of the Buildings of England series express the opinion that it is "by far the grandest church of Stockport", and state "St George is a church on a splendid scale". According to the visitors' guide to the church, the Rt Revd Geoffrey Fisher, former archbishop of Canterbury, said that it is "the finest church built in England since the Reformation".
St Peter's Church, Bolton-le-Moors, commonly known as Bolton Parish Church, is a Church of England parish church in Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. The parish church, dedicated to St Peter, is an example of the Gothic Revival style. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a Grade II* listed building, having been designated in 1974. St Peter's is an active parish church in the Diocese of Manchester and is part of the Bolton deanery and Bolton archdeaconry.
St Cross Church is in the town of Knutsford, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building, in the deanery of Knutsford, the archdeaconry of Macclesfield, and the diocese of Chester. It is an active Anglican parish church, with two services every Sunday, a midweek Eucharist each Wednesday, and Morning Prayer most weekdays. The Parish Electoral Roll is 140, and about sixty people attend Sunday morning services.
St George's Church is in the town of Altrincham, Greater Manchester, England. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Macclesfield and the deanery of Bowdon.
St Mary's Church is in Knowsley Lane, Knowsley Village, Merseyside, England. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Liverpool, the archdeaconry of Liverpool and the deanery of Huyton. In the Buildings of England series, Pollard and Pevsner describe the church as being "largish" with "an intimate interior".
The Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin is a Church of England parish church in Leigh, Greater Manchester, England. It is a member of the Salford & Leigh deanery in the archdeaconry of Salford, diocese of Manchester. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.
St Patrick's Church is the parish church of Preston Patrick, Cumbria, England. It is an active Anglican church, one of eight parish churches served by the Kirkby Lonsdale Team Ministry. It is in the archdeaconry of Westmorland and Furness, and the diocese of Carlisle. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.
St Paul's Church is in Crown Hill, Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Windermere, the archdeaconry of Westmorland and Furness, and the diocese of Carlisle. Its benefice is united with those of St Mary, Allithwiate, St Mary and St Michael, Cartmel, St Peter, Field Broughton, St John the Baptist, Flookburgh, Grange Fell Church, Grange-Over-Sands, and St Paul, Lindale, to form the benefice of Cartmel Peninsula. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.
The Church of St John the Evangelist is in Waterloo Road, Cheetham Hill, Manchester, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of North Manchester, the archdeaconry of Manchester, and the diocese of Manchester. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.
St Margaret's Church is in Burnage Lane, Burnage, a neighbourhood of Manchester, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Heaton, the archdeaconry of Manchester, and the diocese of Manchester. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a Grade II listed building, having been designated on 9 February 2012.
St Michael and All Angels' Church is in Leigh Road, Howe Bridge, a suburb of Atherton, Greater Manchester, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Leigh, the archdeaconry of Salford and the diocese of Manchester. Its benefice is united with those of three local churches, St John the Baptist, St George and St Philip, forming a team ministry entitled the United Benefice of Atherton and Hindsford with Howe Bridge. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.
St Thomas' Church is in Eskrick Street, Halliwell, a residential area of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Bolton, the archdeaconry of Bolton, and the diocese of Manchester. Its benefice is united with those of five other local churches to form the Benefice of West Bolton. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.
St Peter's Church is in Firs Lane, Westleigh, a district of Leigh, Greater Manchester, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Leigh, the archdeaconry of Salford, and the diocese of Manchester. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building. It was designed by the Lancaster architects Paley and Austin. The architectural historians Pollard and Pevsner describe it as "one of their most radical and thrilling churches".
St Mary's Church is in the town of Windermere, Cumbria, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Windermere, the archdeaconry of Westmorland and Furness, and the diocese of Carlisle. Its benefice is united with that of St Martin's Church, Bowness-on-Windermere; St Anne's Church, Ings; St Cuthbert's Church, Kentmere; St James' Church, Staveley and Jesus Church, Troutbeck. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.
St Michael and All Angels with St Marks Church is in Egerton Road, Ashton-on-Ribble, Preston, Lancashire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Preston, the archdeaconry of Lancaster, and the diocese of Blackburn. Its benefice is united with those of St Mark, Preston, and St Andrew, Ashton-on-Ribble, to form the benefice of the West Preston Team. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.
St Matthew's Church is in Billinge Road, Highfield, Pemberton, Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Wigan, the archdeaconry of Wigan & West Lancashire, and the diocese of Liverpool. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.
St Michael's Church is in Townley Street, Middleton, Greater Manchester, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Heywood and Middleton, the archdeaconry of Rochdale, and the diocese of Manchester. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.
St Paul's Church is in Church Road, Skelmersdale, Lancashire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Ormskirk, the archdeaconry of Warrington, and the diocese of Liverpool. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.
St Stephen's Church is in Balcarres Avenue, Whelley, Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Wigan, the archdeaconry of Wigan and West Lancashire, and the diocese of Liverpool. Its benefice is united with that of St John, New Springs. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.
St Thomas' Church is in Warrington Road, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Greater Manchester, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Wigan, the archdeaconry of Warrington, and the diocese of Liverpool. Its benefice is united with that of St Luke, Stubshaw Cross. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.
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