St Peter's Church, Leck facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St Peter's Church, Leck
St Peter's Church, Leck, from the northwest
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OS grid reference	SD 643,766
Location	Leck, Lancashire
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Website	St Peter, Leck
History
Status	Parish church
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade II
Designated	4 December 1985
Architect(s)	Paley and Austin (1878–79) Austin, Paley and Austin (1915 rebuilding)
Architectural type	Church
Style	Gothic Revival
Specifications
Materials	Sandstone, slate roofs
Administration
Parish	Tunstall, Melling and Leck
Deanery	Tunstall
Archdeaconry	Lancaster
Diocese	Blackburn
Province	York

St Peter's Church is a historic church located in the small village of Leck, which is in Lancashire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church, meaning it serves the local community. The church is part of the Diocese of Blackburn.

St Peter's Church is a very important building. It is listed as a Grade II listed building. This means it is a special building that needs to be protected because of its history and architecture.

Church History

The very first church on this spot was built a long time ago, in 1610. It was a small building with only one floor. Later, in 1825, the church was made bigger, and a small tower was added.

The church you see today was built between 1878 and 1879. It was designed by famous architects from Lancaster, called Paley and Austin. Building this church cost about £3,000 back then. It was designed to hold 224 people.

Sadly, the church was damaged by a fire in October 1913. But it was rebuilt by 1915. The rebuilding cost around £5,000. The new church was built to look exactly like the original design. It was rebuilt by Austin, Paley and Austin, who took over the original architectural firm.

Church Design

Outside the Church

The church is built from sandstone rubble, which are rough, uneven stones. Its roof is made of slate. The church has a main area called the nave. On the north side, there is a north aisle, which is like a side passage. There is also a wooden porch on the south side.

The chancel, which is the part of the church where the altar is, is a bit lower than the nave. A vestry, a room for the clergy, is on its north side. At the west end of the church, there is a tower.

The tower has two main sections. At the top, it has a flat wall called a parapet and an eight-sided spire made of slate. In the lower part of the tower, there is a large window with three sections. This window has special stone patterns called tracery. The upper part of the tower has openings for the bells. Along the south wall of the nave, there are windows with four sections. The chancel walls have windows with three or one section. The large window at the east end of the church has eight sections.

Inside the Church

Inside, the nave and the north aisle are separated by a row of arches called an arcade. This arcade has five sections, or "bays." The roof inside the church is made of wood and is open, so you can see the timber structure.

The font, which is used for baptisms, is made of sandstone and has eight sides. Many of the beautiful stained glass windows survived the fire. They were put back by a company called Powells, who used the original drawings by an artist named Henry Holiday.

The first organ in the church was built between 1850 and 1881 by Henry Jones. The organ used today was built in 1915 by Harrison & Harrison. It has two manuals, which are like keyboards for organs. The church also has a set of five bells. All these bells were made in 1914 by John Taylor & Co.

Churchyard Features

The churchyard is the area around the church. It contains some old graves from the 1800s, known as "fever graves." These are the graves of three girls who died from a fever. They attended the Clergy Daughters' School at Cowan Bridge.

There is also a war grave in the churchyard. This is the grave of an airman who died during World War II. It is a special place to remember those who served their country.

Gallery

See also

• Listed buildings in Leck, Lancashire
• List of ecclesiastical works by Paley and Austin
• List of works by Austin, Paley and Austin