Church Heritage Record 624241

The first stone of this Church was laid on Thursday 4th March 1824 by Benjamin Rawson of Darley Hall, Farnworth. Mr. Rawson gave the land on which the Church stands.
The building costs were provided out of a fund administered by a Parliamentary Commission which had been set up to oversee the building of additional churches following the end of the Napoleonic Wars.
The Consecration by the Right Reverend Charles James Blomfield, D.D., the Lord Bishop of Chester took place on 9th September 1826. The Diocese of Manchester had not been formed at this time.
 

In 1873 it was decided that extensive alterations were required and the Church would be extended by the addition of a Chancel 33ft. long by 23ft. wide and of a proportionate height.  Hitherto, the Chancel consisted of a recess 7ft. deep.

Prior to the alterations, the tower stood out from the Church.

Porches on each side of the tower were added, the Crompton Chapel and the vestries were added.

The Church tower when completed, had four pinnacles. These were removed in 1912 as a safety measure.

The Commemoration of the Centenary in 1926 was marked by an extensive refurbishment which included the pointing of outside walls with mastic, stone which had crumbled was replaced, the organ was cleaned, the lighting was simplified, the Lych Gate was restored, out of date gas brackets and standards were removed and much more was carried out.

In 1954, the 1899 bells had lasted for 56 years and were replaced by the present ring of eight bells cast by bell founders John Taylor of Loughborough.

A programme of restoration commenced in 1991 which took place in four stages, stage three being the major of the four stages when the Church was closed from the 12th January 1998 to 27th September. The fourth stage was the restoration of the tower and north and south porches, work was completed in 2003

On completion, the Church, which is built in the Perpendicular Style, contained 948 seats and included a gallery on three sides of the building and a tower 85 feet high. The church had been built 18 years before the first peal of six bells was installed and rung for the first time on February 2nd 1845 and for the last time on Sunday night, January 22nd 1899. A peal of eight bells, cast by Thomas Blackburn of Salisbury, were first rung on September 23rd 1899.

The Church has twelve stained glass windows, the largest being the East Window which depicts the Birth of Christ, the Baptism of Christ, the Crucifixion, the Resurrection .and the Ascension and is in memory of Thomas Bonsor Crompton who was a benefactor of the Church.

The new Chancel was  divided longitudinally into three bays by the Principals which sprang from two shafts between the clerestory windows having carved and moulded caps. The Chancel was approached from the Nave by three steps (two steps are now covered by the new platform construction) extending the full width of the Chancel Arch. The floor was of German tiles supplied and laid by Mr. Ludwig Oppenhiemer.  At each side of the Chancel were two moulded arches opening into the Chancel aisles; that on the north side was used for the organ and the clergy and the choir vestries and that on the south side for the Sunday School Scholars.

The gallery was entered by two spiral staircases, the body of the tower being occupied in the centre by the organ and choir pews.

The side galleries were not much different from what they are now, except that they were lowered to allow a view of the Chancel.

Following the end of the 1914 -1918 war, it was decided that the names of those parishioners who had lost their lives in the service of their country should be recorded on a memorial within the Church. The names were inscribed on a black base with each letter embossed and outlined in gold. This tablet is the centre piece of the memorial which stands ten feet high and three feet wide and was placed on the south side of the Chancel steps.

The Commemoration of the Centenary in 1926 was marked by an extensive refurbishment which included the pointing of outside walls with mastic, stone which had crumbled was replaced, the organ was cleaned, the lighting was simplified, the Lych Gate was restored, out of date gas brackets and standards were removed and much more was carried out.

In 1948 it was decided that a memorial to those who gave their lives in the 1939 - 1945 war should be created in the north east corner of the Church, under the gallery and near the organ. Two pews were removed in order to accommodate the memorial.