St Lawrence's Church, Longridge
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| St Lawrence's Church | |
|---|---|
 St Lawrence's Church, Longridge, from the north-east | |
 | |
| Location | Chapel Hill, Longridge, Lancashire |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Website | www.stlawrencewithstpaul.org.uk |
| History | |
| Status | Parish church |
| Dedication | Saint Lawrence of Rome |
| Consecrated | 1552 |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Specifications | |
| Number of floors | 2 |
| Administration | |
| Province | York |
| Diocese | Blackburn |
| Archdeaconry | Lancaster |
| Deanery | Preston |
| Parish | Longridge |
| Clergy | |
| Vicar(s) | Revd. Mike Barton |
St Lawrence's Church, located on Chapel Hill in Longridge, Lancashire, England, is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Blackburn. Built as a chapel of ease of St Wilfrid, Ribchester in the early 16th century, it was made a parish church in 1868, a role it now shares, jointly, with the nearby St Paul's Church.
History
[edit]The earliest documented reference to a 'Chapel of Longridge' is made in 1522. Rebuilding work took place in 1716 and again in 1784, when the chapel was repaired and enlarged; the tower was added in 1841, and in 1926 a north porch was built at the west end of the nave. In 2005, at the request of Longridge Town Council, a conservation area appraisal and boundary review was conducted. The report recommended the creation of a new zone, and in 2008 the church and its surrounds were designated the St Lawrence's Church Conservation Area. The nearby St Paul's was built as a chapel of ease for St Lawrence.
Architecture
[edit]Stained glass
[edit]The stained glass of the north and south sides of the ground floor of the church dates from 1938–40, and is by glassmakers James Powell and Sons. The west window, a memorial to the fallen of the First World War, was designed by the Lancastrian firm Shrigley & Hunt. In 1975, the artist Brian Clarke was commissioned to designed ten pairs of stained glass windows for the north and south mezzanine galleries.[1][2][3] The sequence of windows, considered the first works of the artist's maturity, reflect the influence of Japanese screen painting on Clarke's work,[4] depicting local scenes including the River Ribble, Pendle Hill, Longridge Fell and Fairsnape Fell, and the local reservoirs and quarries, designed in a semi-abstract way.
Exterior
[edit]Interior
[edit]Inside the church are two war memorials commemorating fallen servicemen and officers who had been inhabitants of Longridge. A marble tablet notes the casualties of the First World War, and a brass plaque below it lists those who died in the Second World War.[5] The inscription on the tablet reads:
To the Glory of God & to the memory of Longridge officers and men who died for their country in the Great War 1914-1918. This tablet is reverently presented by Parishioners and friends 1939 - 1945.[5]
Present day
[edit]St Lawrence's is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Preston, the archdeaconry of Lancaster, and the diocese of Blackburn.[6] The church works in association with St Paul's Church, with which it is, jointly and equally, the parish church of Longridge.
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^ Angus, Mark (1984). Modern Stained Glass in British Churches. United Kingdom: Mowbray. p. 58. ISBN 9780264669861.
- ^ Coleman, Marigold (May 1977). "Glass from the North". Crafts Magazine. 28. Crafts Council of Great Britain: 17–20.
- ^ Harrison, Martin; Reyntiens, Patrick (1979). Clarke, Brian (ed.). Architectural Stained Glass. USA: McGraw-Hill. p. 162. ISBN 071953657X.
- ^ Reyntiens, Patrick (1979). "Elements of Architecture: The Window". In Schofield, Maria (ed.). Decorative Art and Modern Interiors: Themes in Nature. Vol. 68. London: Studio Vista, Cassell Ltd. p. 152. ISBN 0289708605.
- ^ a b "War Memorials Register: St. Lawrence's Church". Imperial War Museums. IWM. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
- ^ "St Lawrence, Longridge", A Church Near You, Archbishops' Council, retrieved 15 October 2021
Further reading
[edit]- Till, J. M., Till, M. R. (1990). The History of St. Lawrence with St. Paul's, Longridge. United Kingdom: St. Lawrence and St. Paul's Churches.
External links
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