Until the 19th century, this locality was within the large rural parish of Heversham.[3] However, there was a chapel on the site. In 1850 the Lancaster architects Edmund Sharpe and E. G. Paley reported that the chapel appeared, from its architectural design, to have been built during the reign of Henry VII (1457–1509). The architects designed a new church. Building started in 1852 and the new church opened on 28 November of that year. It cost about £1,400 (equivalent to £190,000 in 2023),[4][5] and had seating for 1,386 people.[6] In 1892 the chancel was rebuilt by Paley, Austin and Paley, the successors of Sharpe and Paley.[7]
Architecture
Exterior
The church is constructed in limestone with limestone dressings in the nave, and sandstone dressings in the chancel. The roof is of slate, with a stone ridge and copings. Fabric from the earlier church is incorporated in this church consisting of a window in the tower and niches in the chancel. The architectural style is Perpendicular. The plan of the church consists of a west tower, a four-bay nave with a north aisle and a south porch, a single-bay chancel, and a vestry. The tower is square, and in four stages that are separated by a string courses. The top stage contains bell openings in each face, and the tower is surmounted by battlementedparapets. At its southwest corner is a bell turret that rises to a higher level than the tower. In the body of the church, the west and east windows have four lights.[1]
Brandwood, Geoff; Austin, Tim; Hughes, John; Price, James (2012), The Architecture of Sharpe, Paley and Austin, Swindon: English Heritage, ISBN978-1-84802-049-8
