St Margaret's was built in 1837.[2] It was extended in 1901–02 by the Lancaster architects Austin and Paley. The additions included a new chancel, transepts, organ chamber and vestries. The plaster ceiling was removed from the nave, which was reseated, and a tower screen and pulpit were installed. These alterations cost £2,014 (equivalent to £280,000 in 2023).[3][4] The church was closed in 2012 and subsequently converted into two private homes. The congregation either meets at St Boniface's Roman Catholic Church, or at St John's Church in Low Bentham.[5]
Architecture
The church is constructed in stone, with a slate roof. Its plan consists of a four-baynave, a two-bay chancel with a north vestry and a south chapel, and a west tower. The tower has octagonal angle turrets, and an embattledparapet. It is in three stages, with a west doorway in the bottom stage. The middle stage contains a stepped triple window, and in the top stage are two-light bell openings. Along the sides of the nave are four two-light lancet windows. The chapel has two-light windows on the north and south sides, and a three-light window on the east. The east end of the chancel has a four-light window containing trefoilplate tracery.[2] The two-manualpipe organ was built in 1893, and rebuilt in 1937 by Henry Ainscough of Preston.[6]
^Brandwood, Geoff; Austin, Tim; Hughes, John; Price, James (2012), The Architecture of Sharpe, Paley and Austin, Swindon: English Heritage, p. 244, ISBN978-1-84802-049-8