| St John the Baptist's Church, Bretherton | |
St John the Baptist's Church, Bretherton, from the south
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St John the Baptist's Church, Bretherton
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| OS grid reference | SD 476 204 |
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| Location | Bretherton, Lancashire |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Website | St John the Baptist, Bretherton |
| History | |
| Founded | 1839 |
| Dedication | St John the Baptist |
| Consecrated | July 1840 |
| Architecture | |
| Status | Parish church |
| 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 (£70,000 as of 2012) |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Sandstone, slate roofs |
| Administration | |
| Parish | Bretherton |
| Deanery | Chorley |
| Archdeaconry | Blackburn |
| Diocese | Blackburn |
| Province | York |
| Clergy | |
| Rector | Rev D. J. Reynolds |
| Laity | |
| Reader | Miss J. Maggs |
| Organist(s) | Mrs Lesley Moulton |
| Churchwarden(s) | C. Whittle, Mrs S. Williams |
St John the Baptist's Church, Bretherton, 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 has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building.[2]
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St John's was a Commissioners' church costing £1,058 (£70,000 as of 2012).[3][4] It was designed by the Lancaster architect Edmund Sharpe and built in 1839–40. 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, who also added a chancel and vestry in 1908–09.[6] In September 2009 the church was damaged by fire caused by an arsonist.[7]
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.[8]