Church of St John the Evangelist, Poulton-le-Fylde facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St John's Church |
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| Church of St John the Evangelist | |
St John's Church from Breck Road, to the west
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| OS grid reference | SD 3530940017 |
| Location | Breck Road, Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| History | |
| Dedication | John the Evangelist |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | Lancaster |
| Province | Liverpool |
The Church of St John the Evangelist is a Roman Catholic church in the town of Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire, England. It's a special place where people go to worship. This church replaced an older chapel that was built nearby. The old chapel, along with the house where the priest lived (called a presbytery), is now a "Grade II listed building." This means it's an important historical building that needs to be protected.
Contents
History of St John's Church
After the English Reformation (a time when the Church in England changed), St Chad's Church became the main Anglican church in Poulton. However, many Roman Catholics still lived in the area. Poulton was known as a very Catholic place. In the late 1500s, thirteen families in the area would even hide Catholic students training to become priests.
For a while, Catholic families had to travel to Singleton to worship. But in the early 1800s, people decided to build the first Roman Catholic chapel in Poulton. This chapel, dedicated to John the Evangelist, was finished in 1813. The land for the church was given by Thomas Fitzherbert-Brockholes.
There's a cool story from the 1930s about an old vestment (a special robe worn by priests). The vicar of St Chad's Church gave it to the Catholic church because he thought it looked "too Catholic." Experts from the Victoria and Albert Museum in London later said the vestment was probably from the early 1500s and had beautiful English embroidery.
The current, larger church was completed in 1912. It was designed by Cuthbert Pugin of the famous Pugin & Pugin architectural firm. Today, St John's is still an active church. It belongs to the Sacred Heart Deanery of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lancaster.
Architecture of the Church Buildings
The Old Chapel and Priest's House
The old chapel and the priest's house are connected under one long, sloping roof. The building is made of brick covered with stucco (a type of plaster) and has a slate roof. The chapel takes up two-thirds of the building and has three sections, all on one floor. The priest's house has two floors and also has three matching sections.
The main door to the chapel is on the north side and is hidden by a small porch. Above the door, there's an inscription that says, "I have loved, O Lord, the beauty of thy house, and the place where they Glory dwelleth. AD 1813." On either side of the door are windows shaped like half-circles. The north and south walls each have three tall windows with arched tops and wooden Y-shaped patterns (called tracery). The priest's house has normal sash windows (windows that slide up and down).
This building was named a Grade II listed building by English Heritage in 1983. A Grade II listing means a building is "nationally important and of special interest."
The Current Church
The church you see today is built from rough, red sandstone. It's designed in a simple Romanesque style, which is an old European architectural style. The front of the church has strong supports called buttresses. At the very top, there's a small tower for bells, called a bellcote.
Above the entrance, there's a small carved space (a niche) holding a statue. There's also a Latin message carved there. Inside, the church is one large open space. It has narrow walkways on the sides (called aisles) and small sections that stick out on the sides (called transepts). There's a special area for baptisms (a baptistery) at the southwest end.
A balcony (a gallery) runs along the west side of the church. It has a front that sticks out and wooden railings (balustrades). Stairs to the gallery are at the northwest side. The altars and the decorative screens behind them (called reredoses) were designed by Boulton of Cheltenham.
Churchyard
The churchyard is the area around the church. It contains a war grave for a soldier from the Royal Engineers who died in World War II. This grave is looked after by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
