St Mark's Church, Dolphinholme facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Mark's Church, Dolphinholme |
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St Mark's Church, Dolphinholme, from the south
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| OS grid reference | SD 517,534 |
| Location | Dolphinholme, Lancashire |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Website | St Mark, Dolphinholme |
| History | |
| Status | Parish church |
| Dedication | Saint Mark |
| Consecrated | 25 January 1899 |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | Grade II |
| Designated | 2 May 1968 |
| Architect(s) | Austin and Paley |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Gothic Revival |
| Groundbreaking | 1897 |
| Completed | 1899 |
| Construction cost | £3,000 |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Sandstone, slate roofs |
| Administration | |
| Parish | St Mark, Dolphinholme |
| Deanery | Lancaster and Morecambe |
| Archdeaconry | Lancaster |
| Diocese | Blackburn |
| Province | York |
St Mark's Church is a beautiful old church located in the village of Dolphinholme, Lancashire, England. It's an active Anglican church, which means it belongs to the Church of England. It serves the local community as a parish church. St Mark's is also a special building because it's listed as Grade II, meaning it's an important historical place that needs to be protected.
Contents
History of St Mark's Church
Building a New Church
St Mark's Church was built between 1897 and 1898. It was designed by famous architects from Lancaster, named Austin and Paley. This new church was built to replace an older one. The first church had been built about 60 years earlier for people who worked in local mills.
Cost and Opening
The new church was quite expensive to build. It cost about £3,300 back then. That would be a lot of money today! It was big enough to seat 497 people. The church was officially opened and made sacred on January 25, 1899. This ceremony is called a consecration.
Architecture and Design
Outside the Church
St Mark's Church is made from rough sandstone blocks. Its roof is covered with green slate tiles. The church has a main area called a nave, which has three sections. There's also a north side section called an aisle and a porch. At the front, there's a chancel, which is where the altar is.
In the middle of the church, where different parts meet, there is a tower. This tower has a small, round staircase on its southwest side. The tower also has strong supports called buttresses on its east and west sides. On the south side of the tower, there is a window with three sections. The very top of the tower has a flat wall, and then a pyramid-shaped roof with a weathervane.
Along the side of the aisle, there are four windows, each with two sections. The porch has a pointed doorway under a triangular part called a gable. This gable has a cross decoration on top. The north and south sides of the chancel each have a two-section window. The large window at the very front (east side) has five sections. Along the south wall of the nave, there are three more windows. Two of these have three sections, and one has two sections. There's also a doorway with a pointed top on this side.
Inside the Church
Inside St Mark's, you'll see a row of arches called an arcade. These arches are supported by eight-sided pillars. In the chancel, there's a special basin called a piscina. It has a three-leaf shape at the top. The font, which is used for baptisms, has a cover from 1910.
The church has beautiful stained glass windows from the 20th century. They show pictures of Saint Mark and Saint Peter. The organ, which has two keyboards, was built in 1927 by R. G. Phillips from Preston.
A famous expert on buildings, Nikolaus Pevsner, once said that it would be hard to find other village churches in England as impressive as St Mark's. He thought it was as good as two other churches designed by Austin and Paley.
Churchyard Features
The churchyard around St Mark's Church is also important. It contains the graves of two people who died in World War II. One was a soldier and the other was an airman. These graves are cared for by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
See also
- Listed buildings in Ellel, Lancashire
- List of ecclesiastical works by Austin and Paley (1895–1914)
