St Margaret's Church, High Bentham
History
St Margaret's was built in 1837. 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). 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.
Architecture
The church is constructed in stone, with a slate roof. Its plan consists of a four-bay nave, a two-bay chancel with a north vestry and a south chapel, and a west tower. The tower has octagonal angle turrets, and an embattled parapet. 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 trefoil plate tracery. The two-manual pipe organ was built in 1893, and rebuilt in 1937 by Henry Ainscough of Preston.
See also
- Listed buildings in Bentham, North Yorkshire
- List of ecclesiastical works by Austin and Paley (1895–1914)
References
- ^ Bentham: St Margaret, High Bentham, Church of England, retrieved 25 March 2012
- ^ Historic England, "Church of St Margaret, Bentham (1132420)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 25 March 2012
- ^ 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
- ^ Brandwood, Geoff; Austin, Tim; Hughes, John; Price, James (2012), The Architecture of Sharpe, Paley and Austin, Swindon: English Heritage, p. 244, ISBN 978-1-84802-049-8
- ^ The Benefice of St John the Baptist, Low Bentham and St Margaret, High Bentham, The Benefice of St John the Baptist, Low Bentham and St Margaret, High Bentham, retrieved 25 March 2012
- ^ "NPOR [N04814]", National Pipe Organ Register, British Institute of Organ Studies, retrieved 29 June 2020