St Peter and St Paul's Church is in Gisburn Road,
Bolton-by-Bowland,
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 is an active
Anglican 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 deanery of Whalley, the archdeaconry of Blackburn, and 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 ...
. Its
benefice is united with that of
St Ambrose, Grindleton. The church is recorded in the
National Heritage List for England
The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, a ...
as a designated Grade I
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 ...
.
History
A church has been on the site since at least 1190, and the present church contains some 13th-century fabric. Almost all the church dates from the middle of the 15th century, when it was built by Sir Ralph Pudsay, the
Lord of the Manor
Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seig ...
of Bolton, and completed in about 1466. The Pudsay Chapel was added in the early 16th century.
[ In 1885–86 the church was restored by the Lancaster architects ]Paley and Austin
Sharpe, Paley and Austin are the surnames of architects who practised in Lancaster, Lancashire, England, between 1835 and 1946, working either alone or in partnership. The full names of the principals in their practice, which went under vario ...
who added a new roof and parapet
A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). ...
s. The tower was restored in 1994.[
]
Architecture
Exterior
The church is constructed in sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...
with roofs of stone slate and lead. Its plan consists of 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 ...
and 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 ...
with a clerestory under a continuous roof, north and south aisle
An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, par ...
s, a southeast (Pudsay) chapel, a south porch, and a west tower. In the bottom stage of the tower is a west doorway, with a four-light window above it. There are two-light bell openings in each of the upper stages, and an embattled parapet with corner pinnacles and gargoyle
In architecture, and specifically Gothic architecture, a gargoyle () is a carved or formed grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing it from running down masonry walls ...
s. Along the sides of the aisles and clerestory are two-light windows, and the east window has five lights. In the south wall of the church is a priest's door that possibly dates from the 13th century. The inner door of the south porch has a lintel partly carved with dog-tooth decoration.[
]
Interior
Inside the church the five- bay arcades are carried on octagonal piers. In the south wall of the chancel is a piscina
A piscina is a shallow basin placed near the altar of a church, or else in the vestry or sacristy, used for washing the communion vessels. The sacrarium is the drain itself. Anglicans usually refer to the basin, calling it a piscina. For Roman Ca ...
, and in the north wall is a recess, probably for a tomb. The octagonal sandstone font dates from the early 16th century. Its bowl is carved with the coats of arms of local families, and has brass plaques inscribed with texts in Latin.[ The font cover was carved by Robert (Mouseman) Thompson.] The pulpit contains panels described as "Flemish baroque".[ In the arch between the chancel and chapel is the monument to Sir Ralph Pudsay who died in 1468. It is in ]limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
, and is carved with the figures of Sir Ralph, his three wives, and his 25 children, with their names. The monument stands on a sandstone base.[ Among the children depicted is Sir Ralph's son, William, who became rector of the church.][ In the chancel is a ]Greek Revival
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but a ...
tablet from the early 19th century by John Foster.[ Also in the church are four hatchments. There is stained glass by C. E. Kempe in some of the south aisle windows.][ The two- manual pipe organ was made in 1886 by Isaac Abbott of Leeds, and restored in 2009 by John Clough. There is a ]ring
Ring may refer to:
* Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry
* To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell
:(hence) to initiate a telephone connection
Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...
of six bells; two of these were cast in about 1420 by John Seliok, one is dated 1749 and is by Edward Seller II, and the newest three are by John Taylor and Company cast in 1958, 1973, and 2005 respectively.
External features
The churchyard contains the war grave
A war grave is a burial place for members of the armed forces or civilians who died during military campaigns or operations.
Definition
The term "war grave" does not only apply to graves: ships sunk during wartime are often considered to b ...
of a Royal Dragoons
The Royal Dragoons (1st Dragoons) was a heavy cavalry regiment of the British Army. The regiment was formed in 1661 as the Tangier Horse. It served for three centuries and was in action during the First and the Second World Wars. It was amalgam ...
soldier of World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
See also
*Grade I listed buildings in Lancashire
This is a list of Grade I listed buildings in Lancashire, England.
In the United Kingdom, the term "listed building" refers to a building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural, historical or cultural signifi ...
* Grade I listed churches in Lancashire
* Listed buildings in Bolton-by-Bowland
*List of ecclesiastical works by Paley and Austin
Paley and Austin was the title of a practice of architects in Lancaster, Lancashire, Lancaster, Lancashire, England, in the 19th century. The practice had been founded in 1836 by Edmund Sharpe. The architects during the period covered by t ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolton-by-Bowland, St Peter and St Paul's Church
Church of England church buildings in Lancashire
Diocese of Blackburn
Grade I listed churches in Lancashire
English Gothic architecture in Lancashire
Paley and Austin buildings
Peter and Paul's, Bolton-by-Bowland