St John's Church, Birkdale facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St John's Church
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OS grid reference	SD 330,145
Location	St John's Road, Birkdale, Southport, Merseyside
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Churchmanship	Conservative Evangelical
Website	St John, Birkdale
History
Status	Parish church
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade II
Designated	29 July 1999
Architect(s)	Paley, Austin and Paley Austin and Paley
Architectural type	Church
Style	Gothic Revival
Groundbreaking	1889
Completed	1910
Specifications
Materials	Brick with terracotta and sandstone dressings Red tiled roofs
Administration
Parish	St John, Birkdale
Deanery	North Meols
Archdeaconry	Warrington
Diocese	Liverpool
Province	York

St John's Church is a special old building located on St John's Road in Birkdale, Southport, Merseyside, England. It's an active church that belongs to the Anglican faith, which is a type of Christian church. It serves as a parish church, meaning it's the main church for a local area. The church is also a 'Grade II listed building', which means it's an important historical building protected by the government.

History of St John's Church

St John's Church was first built between 1889 and 1890. It was designed by famous architects from Lancaster named Paley, Austin and Paley. The original church cost about £3,000 at the time and could seat 318 people.

Church Expansion and Changes

Later, between 1909 and 1910, the church was made bigger by the architects Austin and Paley. They added a north aisle (a side part of the church) with an arcade, which is a row of arches. They also added rooms called vestries. This expansion cost £2,000 and created space for 186 more people.

Architecture and Design

St John's Church has a unique and interesting design. It mixes the Arts and Crafts style with some Perpendicular details, which is a style of Gothic architecture.

Outside the Church

The church is built using brick, with special decorations made from shiny brick and terracotta (a type of baked clay). Some parts even have timber framing, which means wooden beams are visible. The roofs are covered with red tiles. At the west end of the church, there's a small tower called a bellcote with a tiny spire covered in green Westmorland slate.

The church's shape includes a main area called a nave, with side aisles to the north and south. There's also a porch on the south side and a chancel (the area around the altar) with a small chapel next to it. The aisles extend into double transepts, which are like arms sticking out from the main body of the church.

You can see a timber-framed porch on the south side. The transepts have tall, two-light windows (windows with two sections) on each side of a central support. The west window has six sections, and the east window has five sections. These windows are in a 'Decorated' style, with terracotta mullions (vertical bars) and sandstone tracery (decorative patterns). The bellcote has two-light windows and a pointed roof called a broach spire with a metal decoration on top.

Inside the Church

When you step inside, you'll see the exposed brickwork, which gives the church a natural look. The arches of the arcades are supported by red sandstone piers (strong columns) that don't have capitals (the decorated tops of columns).

The church has beautiful stained glass windows. Experts believe the stained glass in the east window was made by Barrowclough and Sanders. Other windows were created by Abbott and Company, and by Shrigley and Hunt. The church also has a large organ with three manuals (keyboards), which was built around 1893 by Rushworth and Dreaper from Liverpool.

See also

• Listed buildings in Birkdale
• List of works by Paley, Austin and Paley
• List of ecclesiastical works by Austin and Paley (1895–1914)