Lancashire
Churches
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Updated
15 April 2004
An enthusiast's look at the architecture and history of the
churches of the Red Rose County
Introduction
In the books about church architecture Lancashire is rarely given the place it deserves. Authors frequently follow the popular imagination, and view the county as a place of cities, towns and industries that grew up during the Industrial Revolution. Consequently Victorian architecture features heavily in their pages. Yet Lancashire is also a place of hills, plains and coast, of ancient villages and market towns. Like most counties' churches, those in Lancashire span all the periods of architectural development, from Saxon times to the present day. And, whilst it is true that some periods are better represented than others, the enthusiast in Lancashire can find local gems and national treasures throughout the county.
This website looks at a selection of churches of architectural and historic interest. They are representative of the county and, in the main, are not the more obvious choices. There is a bias to west and north Lancashire - the areas which have received least attention in the past.
The aim of the website is to foster a better understanding of what Lancashire has to offer, and to help to stimulate an interest in the study of church architecture generally. I am pleased to receive any comments or corrections.
Tony Boughen
postmaster@lancashirechurches.co.uk
Historic Lancashire
The modern county of Lancashire was devised by the local government reorganisation of 1974. "Historic Lancashire" or "Real Lancashire" has existed since the twelfth century and covers a considerably larger area. The churches in this website are drawn from historic Lancashire and most can be found in Pevsner, N. (1969) The Buildings of England: North Lancashire, Penguin,
and Pevsner, N. (1969) The Buildings of England: South Lancashire, Penguin. Both books together cover the area of historic Lancashire.
For further information about the geographical extent of Lancashire visit The Friends of Real Lancashire. For more information about why the we should preserve the historic counties visit the Association of British Counties (ABC).
Longridge, St Paul
A church of 1886-8 by Ewan Christian, with a tower of 1936-7 by A.C.M. Lillie.
Much Hoole, St Michael
A window celebrating Jeremiah Horrocks' discovery of the Transit of Venus in 1639. For more information about this year's Transit go to http://www.transitofvenus.org/index.html
Burscough, St John
A Commissioners' church of 1829-31, costing £3,340, by D. Stewart.
New New New New
Lancashire Churches Desktop Backgrounds
Customize your computer desktop with a Lancashire Churches background. Available in 800 X 600 and 1024 X 768.
The maps show the location of Lancashire and the extent of the historic county.
Lancashire stretches from the Coniston and Windermere areas of the Lake District, down to the Furness peninsula and Walney Island, across the sands of Morecambe Bay to the Lune valley, through Bowland, the Fylde, the western Pennines, and south to the areas around Southport, Liverpool, Manchester and Warrington.
Click the thumbnails to go to the Desktop Backgrounds Page.
Best viewed with Internet Explorer
Photographs and text © Tony Boughen