Holy Trinity Church, Burnley facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Holy Trinity Church, Burnley
Holy Trinity Church, Burnley, from the west
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OS grid reference	SD 832 326
Location	Accrington Road, Burnley, Lancashire
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
History
Status	Former parish church
Architecture
Functional status	Redundant
Heritage designation	Grade II
Designated	29 September 1977
Architect(s)	Lewis Vulliamy
Architectural type	Church
Style	Gothic Revival (Early English)
Groundbreaking	1835
Completed	1872
Closed	1990
Specifications
Materials	Sandstone, slate roofs

Holy Trinity Church is located on Accrington Road in Burnley, Lancashire, England. It used to be a parish church for the Anglican faith, but it is no longer used for church services. This building is now a special Grade II listed building, which means it's protected because of its important history and design.

Holy Trinity is known as a "Commissioners' church." This means it was built with help from a special government fund. The church was designed by Lewis Vulliamy in a style called Early English Gothic. It was made bigger between 1871 and 1872. However, it closed as a church in 1990 and has since been turned into apartments.

History of Holy Trinity Church

Holy Trinity was one of the "Commissioners' churches." A group called the Church Building Commission gave £1,168 to help pay for its construction. The total cost to build the church was £2,918.

The church was designed by the architect Lewis Vulliamy. It was built between 1835 and 1836. In 1871 and 1872, the chancel (the area around the altar) was made larger. A vestry (a room for clergy and choir) was also added, probably by William Waddington.

The church stopped being used for services on 1 January 1990. By 1991, it was in bad condition after a fire. However, it was repaired and changed into flats in 1993. The church's original parish has now joined with St Matthew, Burnley.

Architecture and Design

The church is built from a type of stone called sandstone. Its roofs are made of slate and now have skylight windows. The building's style is called Early English Gothic.

The church has a main area called a nave with four sections. It also has a chancel with two sections, a small chapel on the north side, and a vestry on the south side. At the west end of the church is a tall tower.

The tower has three levels. It features strong corner supports called buttresses. There are two doorways at the bottom of the tower and a clock face. Higher up, there are openings with louvred slats where the bells are. The very top of the tower has a parapet (a low wall) with pointed decorations called pinnacles at each corner. The nave also has pinnacles at its corners.

The sides of the nave have buttresses separating each section. Each section has two tall, narrow windows called lancet windows. The sides of the chancel also have paired lancet windows. The large window at the east end of the church has three stepped lancet windows. The north chapel has a gable roof and a round window called a wheel window. The inside of the church has been changed, but it originally had a gallery (a raised seating area) supported by cast iron columns.

Why Holy Trinity Church is Important

Holy Trinity Church was officially named a Grade II listed building on 29 September 1977. There are three grades of listed buildings, and Grade II is the lowest. However, it still means the building is considered "nationally important and of special interest."

Experts Hartwell and Pevsner, in their book series Buildings of England, described the church as having a "sturdy quality." They also noted its "impressive sheerness," which means it has a striking, upright appearance.

See also

• List of Commissioners' churches in Northeast and Northwest England
• Listed buildings in Burnley
• Places of worship in Burnley