Lancashire

Churches

A small Lune Valley church of C15 origin, with later additions

The church of St John the Baptist, Arkholme, sits picturesquely at the end of a village street, next to a motte, within a stone's throw of the River Lune. It is one of a group of Lune Valley churches to be built next to a Norman earthwork - see Whittington and Melling - which may be an indication that a church has occupied the site for longer than is now apparent. Until 1866 Arkholme was a chapel of ease of Melling church, but in that year it became a parish in its own right.

A church is known to have existed at Arkholme around 1450: a time when the village was known as Erwhum. It can never have been a large building, and was probably a single rectangular space covered by one roof. It is likely that elements of the plan of the present church, and probably some of its walling dates back to those times.

Today St John's consists of a nave and chancel in one with no separating arch, a south aisle that stops at the chancel, a south porch, a north vestry, and a bellcote over the west end. The latter is a heavy piece made of well-finished stone. It has a segmental pediment with, below, a single louvre to both east and west. Though there was a significant restoration in 1766, and later in 1788, the style of the bellcote looks early C18. It holds a very old bell, 21 inches in diameter, which probably dates from the C14. Along its lower edge is the following inscription:

IHS:NAZARENUS:REX:JUDEORUM:FILI DEI

The exterior of the building is of roughly cut stone, with a modest stepped buttress on the south aisle, and also on the west and south edges of the west wall. The windows, with one exception, appear to be C19 insertions: of Perpendicular style to east and west, and modelled on C16 or C17 designs elsewhere. These must have replace those inserted in 1788 which themselves replaced older windows. The window at the east end of the south aisle looks to date from the C17 or early C18. It is of a very simple design - two lights with arched heads separated by a thick mullion - a type commonly found in Lancashire. It should be added that the hoodmould of the east window was retained when it was replaced and repositioned during the creation of the chancel in 1897.

In 1788 a west doorway and a small vestry on the north side were created. The present vestry, however, dates from 1897, and is the work of Austin & Paley of Lancaster. They also added the south porch. It is characteristic of this firm that the porch makes a visually satisfying contribution to the building, and is finished to a high standard. At the time of this work the west doorway was judged to be unneccesary, and was filled in.

Inside the church is a four-bay south arcade of octagonal columns with very basic octagonal capitals. The easternmost column capital is decorated with crudely carved motifs. A date of c.1450 has been suggested for the arcade. Was it added to extend a smaller building, or was it part of the original design?

Austin & Paley's chancel fits in well with the nave. It has a plain and nicely cut piscina and sedilia under a square hoodmould, with more unassuming stonework around the pulpit. The latter is a simple piece with linenfold panelling that replaced an earlier three-tier pulpit. The north wall houses the organ which was made in 1906 by Bibby & Wolfenden, a local firm of organ builders.

At the east end of the church are two fonts. The oldest is a small C18 bowl on a heavy base. The newer font (is it C20?) is quite the reverse - a large octagonal, panelled bowl on a very slight column and base! The cover of this font commemorates the last of the Arkholme basket makers, Charlie Ireland, who died in 1959. In the east window of the south aisle are a pair of stained glass figures by Shrigley & Hunt of Lancaster. They commemorate a former vicar of Arkholme, Arthur James Woodhouse (1930-1990) and his sister and fellow worker, Annie. The subjects of the glass are the Venerable Bede and St Hilda: he with his pen and book, she with Whitby Abbey and her abbess' crook.

A stone plaque can be seen noting: "This Chappel of Arkholme Was Repaired in the Year 1788, John Willson Curret, John Smith Chappel Warden." The church also has an C18 charities board on the north wall. Money from the charities is still used today to buy Bibles that are presented to pupils of the nearby C of E Primary School when they leave to go to secondary education. 

Exterior

The bellcote, with its segmental pediment looks earlier than the restoration of 1788.

View from the chancel

The south aisle may have been an enlargement of an earlier building.

The Venerable Bede and St Hilda

Commemorating a former vicar and his sister, the windows are by Shrigley & Hunt.

South aisle capital

Only one of the capitals in the four bay arcade is decorated. It is probably C15 work.

Charities Board (detail)

Today money from the C18 charities is used to buy Bibles for local school children.

Photographs and text © Tony Boughen