The parish church of Blackpool Saint John the Evangelist, or St John's Blackpool, is an
Anglican church in
Blackpool,
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...
, England. It was completed in 1878 and is a Grade II
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
. A church was built on the site in 1821 and was replaced by the current building to accommodate a larger congregation. The church was designed by Garlick, Park and Sykes in the
Early English style and has been restored and renovated in 1986 and from 2000 to 2006. St John's is known as the parish church of Blackpool, and is an active
parish church
A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...
in the
Diocese of Blackburn
The Diocese of Blackburn is a Church of England diocese, covering much of Lancashire, created on 12 November 1926 from part of the Diocese of Manchester. The diocese includes the towns of Blackburn, Blackpool and Burnley, the cities of Lancas ...
which is within the
ecclesiastical province
An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian Churches with traditional hierarchical structure, including Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity. In general, an ecclesiastical province consists of seve ...
of
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
. It is in the
Archdeaconry
An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that of mo ...
of Lancaster and the
Deanery of Blackpool.
History and architecture
Until the early 19th century, there was no parish church in Blackpool and
All Hallows Church at nearby
Bispham was used for Blackpool's baptisms, marriages and burials.
A church was built on the present site of the St John's in 1821.
It was dedicated to
John the Evangelist
John the Evangelist ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης, Iōánnēs; Aramaic: ܝܘܚܢܢ; Ge'ez: ዮሐንስ; ar, يوحنا الإنجيلي, la, Ioannes, he, יוחנן cop, ⲓⲱⲁⲛⲛⲏⲥ or ⲓⲱ̅ⲁ) is the name traditionally given ...
and
consecrated on 6 July 1821 by
George Henry Law
George Henry Law (12 September 1761 – 22 September 1845) was the Bishop of Chester (1812) and then, from 1824, Bishop of Bath and Wells.
Born at the lodge of Peterhouse, Cambridge, of which his father Edmund Law (who later became Bishop of ...
, the
Bishop of Chester
The Bishop of Chester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chester in the Province of York.
The diocese extends across most of the historic county boundaries of Cheshire, including the Wirral Peninsula and has its see in the ...
.
The church was enlarged in 1832 and 1847; a
chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse.
Ov ...
was added in 1851.
St John's became a parish in 1860.
In Porter's ''Guide to Blackpool, Fleetwood, Lytham, etc.'' of 1871, the church was described as "a plain brick edifice, with a low embattled tower, and destitute of any architectural beauty".
The churchyard was closed to burials in 1873, when
Layton Cemetery was completed, about away.
To cope with a growing congregation, it was decided to replace the church with a larger building. The smaller church of 1821 was demolished in 1877 and building of the new church commenced immediately. The foundation stone was laid by Blackpool's first mayor, Dr William Cocker, who had donated £1000 towards the cost of the construction. The building was completed in 1878.
The new church was consecrated on 25 June 1878 by
James Fraser, the
Bishop of Manchester
The Bishop of Manchester is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Manchester in the Province of York.'' Crockford's Clerical Directory 2008/2009 (100th edition)'', Church House Publishing ().
The current bishop is David Walker w ...
.
The present church was built in 1878 to a design by Garlick, Park and Sykes. It is constructed in the
Early English style from yellow stone, with slate roofs and
ashlar interiors.
The tower is at the south west of the building and has four stages and angled
buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral ( ...
es which are topped with
pinnacles and
finials. On each wall of the tower are two tall
Belfry louvres.
St John's has a
nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
with low aisles, tall
transept
A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building wi ...
s and an
apsidal
In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...
chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse.
Ov ...
. The nave has cylindrical columns with circular caps. The chancel has a
Gothic style
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
** Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken ...
screen and wooden panelling.
St John's was designated a Grade II
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
on 20 October 1983.
The Grade II listing—the lowest of the three grades—is for buildings that are "nationally important and of special interest".
After 100 years of use, the church was in need of repair and restoration work was carried out in 1986. Further renovation took place between 2000 and 2006 at a cost of £1.6 million. A community and conference centre were built, as well as a dedicated area for the homelessness charity
Streetlife.
The inside of the church now features a modern, comfortable worship space with several other rooms created around it.
Present day
Blackpool Church - St John's launched as an HTB resource church on 17th April 2022 after being added to the HTB Network.
The weekly Sunday gathering starts at 11am, doors open at 10.30am for hot drinks and pastries. The Sunday gathering has worship, prayer and a talk from the Bible and there are groups for children and young people.
There is a Communion service held at Beacon Church - in partnership with Blackpool Church - on Wednesdays at 11am which everyone is welcome to attend.
An Alpha course is held three times per year, once per term and is an opportunity to explore questions about faith in a safe, non judgemental environment.
There is also a weekly toddler group at the church for children aged 0-4 on Wednesdays at 10am. There are stories, crafts and singing and refreshments for children and parents / carers.
See also
*
Listed buildings in Blackpool
Blackpool is a seaside town and unitary authority situated on The Fylde coast in Lancashire, England. This list includes the listed buildings in Blackpool and Bispham, a village within the borough of Blackpool. One is classified by English Her ...
References
Footnotes
Bibliography
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Blackpool, St John's Church
St John
Church of England church buildings in Lancashire
19th-century Church of England church buildings
Diocese of Blackburn
Grade II listed churches in Lancashire