St John The Baptist's Church, Smallbridge
History
St John's was built in 1834 to a design by Lewis Vulliamy. A grant of £3,253 (equivalent to £390,000 as of 2023) was given towards its construction by the Church Building Commission. The church was declared redundant in March 2008 due to a declining congregation
Architecture
The church is constructed in ashlar stone with a slate roof. Its architectural style is Gothic Revival. 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. The stained glass includes an 18th-century roundel by William Wailes.
See also
- List of churches in Greater Manchester
- List of Commissioners' churches in Northeast and Northwest England
- Listed buildings in Wardle, Greater Manchester
References
- ^ St John Baptist, Smallbridge, Church of England, retrieved 19 April 2012
- ^ Saint John The Baptist Church, Rochdale Online, retrieved 19 April 2012
- ^ Historic England, "Church of St John the Baptist, Rochdale (1346261)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 19 April 2012
- ^ 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
- ^ 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
- ^ 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
- ^ 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.