St John the Baptist's Church, Smallbridge

St John the Baptist's Church, Smallbridge
St John the Baptist's Church, Smallbridge, from the northwest
St John the Baptist's Church, Smallbridge Location in Greater Manchester
53°38′02″N2°07′55″W / 53.6338°N 2.1320°W / 53.6338; -2.1320
OS grid reference	SD 914,153
Location	Halifax Road, Smallbridge, Rochdale, Greater Manchester
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Website	St John, Smallbridge
History
Status	Parish church
Dedication	Saint John the Baptist
Architecture
Functional status	Redundant
Heritage designation	Grade II
Designated	29 June 1966
Architect(s)	Lewis Vulliamy
Architectural type	Church
Style	Gothic Revival
Completed	1834
Specifications
Materials	Stone, slate roof
Administration
Province	York
Diocese	Manchester
Archdeaconry	Rochdale
Deanery	Rochdale
Parish	Wardle and Smallbridge
Clergy
Vicar(s)	Revd Andrew J. Howell

St John the Baptist's Church is in Halifax Road, Smallbridge, Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England. It is a redundant Anglican parish church in the benefice of Wardle and Smallbridge, the deanery of Rochdale, the archdeaconry of Rochdale, and the diocese of Manchester. ^{[1] [2]} The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building. ^[3] It was a Commissioners' church, having received a grant towards its construction from the Church Building Commission. ^[4]

History

St John's was built in 1834 to a design by Lewis Vulliamy. ^[5] A grant of £3,253 (equivalent to £390,000 as of 2023) ^[6] was given towards its construction by the Church Building Commission. ^[4] The church was declared redundant in March 2008 due to a declining congregation ^[7]

Architecture

The church is constructed in ashlar stone with a slate roof. ^[3] Its architectural style is Gothic Revival. ^[4] The plan consists of an eight-bay nave with a projection at the west end, and a single-bay chancel with a vestry. The projection at the west end contains three stepped lancet windows with a doorway under the central window. On each side is a low porch. Rising from the gable is a tall bellcote with columns at the corners and louvred bell openings on each side. Above these is a clock face on each side under a gable. On the summit of the bellcote is a finial. In the corners between the projection and the nave are pinnacles with conical roofs and cross finials, and there is a similar pinnacle at the east end. Along the sides of the church, each bay contains a lancet window. The east window has four lights. Inside the church are galleries carried on cast iron columns. Over the chancel arch is a painting of a choir of angels. The furniture is described as "fine and ornately carved timberwork of various dates", and includes pews with poppyheads, and a hooded priest's chair with a misericord. ^[3] The stained glass includes an 18th-century roundel by William Wailes. ^[5]

See also

• Greater Manchester portal

• List of churches in Greater Manchester
• List of Commissioners' churches in Northeast and Northwest England
• Listed buildings in Wardle, Greater Manchester

References

1. St John Baptist, Smallbridge, Church of England , retrieved 19 April 2012
2. Saint John The Baptist Church, Rochdale Online, retrieved 19 April 2012
3. Historic England, "Church of St John the Baptist, Rochdale (1346261)", National Heritage List for England , retrieved 19 April 2012
4. Port, M. H. (2006), 600 New Churches: The Church Building Commission 1818–1856 (2nd ed.), Reading: Spire Books, p. 336, ISBN   978-1-904965-08-4
5. Hartwell, Clare; Hyde, Matthew; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2004), Lancashire: Manchester and the South-East, The Buildings of England, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, p. 602, ISBN   0-300-10583-5
6. 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 7 May 2024
7. Wilkinson, Damon (5 February 2015). "Sale of the sanctuary: Church put on the market for £120k". Manchester Evening News. Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 13 October 2021.