St Mary's Church is a redundant

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

church on the

A59 road The A59 is a major road in England which is around long and runs from Wallasey, Merseyside to York, North Yorkshire. The alignment formed part of the Trunk Roads Act 1936, being then designated as the A59. It is a key route connecting Merseysi ...

as it passes to the south of the village of

Tarleton Tarleton is a village and civil parish in the West Lancashire district of Lancashire, England. It is situated approximately north-east of Liverpool and south-west of Preston. The parish includes the village of Mere Brow and the hamlets of ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, England. It 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, ...

as a designated Grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

, and is under the care of the

Churches Conservation Trust The Churches Conservation Trust is a registered charity whose purpose is to protect historic churches at risk in England. The charity cares for over 350 churches of architectural, cultural and historic significance, which have been transferred in ...

. It is described by the Churches Conservation Trust as a "picturesque early Georgian chapel" with "a lovely unspoiled interior".

History

The church was built on the site of a former

chantry A chantry is an ecclesiastical term that may have either of two related meanings: # a chantry service, a set of Christian liturgical celebrations for the dead (made up of the Requiem Mass and the Office of the Dead), or # a chantry chapel, a b ...

chapel, dedicated to St Helen, founded in about 1525. In the 1530s a hermitage in the chapelyard was occupied by Hugh Dobson of the Order of St Anthony. The chapel was sold to Sir Thomas Hesketh who demolished it. In 1719, Henrietta Maria Legh of

Bank Hall Bank Hall is a Jacobean mansion in Bretherton, Lancashire, England. It is a Grade II* listed building and is at the centre of a private estate, surrounded by parkland. The hall was built on the site of an older house in 1608 by the Banastres w ...

, donated the land on which the church was built. The building costs were met by other benefactors. Legh and her heirs held the right, with the rector of

Croston Croston is a village and civil parish near Chorley in Lancashire, England. The River Yarrow flows through the village. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 2,917. History Croston was founded in the 7th century whe ...

's approval, to nominate the

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are as ...

but patronage of the church was subsequently acquired by the rector. Additions were made in 1824, consisting of a west porch, a south gallery, and an upper stage to the tower. The church closed in 1886 when Holy Trinity Church was built nearer to the centre of the village. It was used as a mortuary chapel. St Mary's was declared redundant on 1 November 1980, and was

vested In law, vesting is the point in time when the rights and interests arising from legal ownership of a property are acquired by some Legal person, person. Vesting creates an immediately secured right of present or future deployment. One has a vest ...

in the Trust on 10 February 1982.

Architecture

Exterior

St Mary's is constructed in handmade brick that was originally plastered, with stone slate roofs and with

ashlar Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...

upper parts to the tower. Its plan consists of a small rectangular building in four bays, with a semi-octagonal

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

, a bell-tower at the west end, and to the west of this a flat-topped porch. The church measures by , with the apse measuring by . Along the north and south walls are large round-headed windows with glazing bars that are continued upwards into intersecting

tracery Tracery is an architectural device by which windows (or screens, panels, and vaults) are divided into sections of various proportions by stone ''bars'' or ''ribs'' of moulding. Most commonly, it refers to the stonework elements that support th ...

. Above each window is a keystone, and between the windows are triangular

pilaster In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...

s which act as

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 (typically Gothic) buildings, as a means of providing support to act ...

es.

The apse has a similar window on each side, leaving the east end blank. Running down the east end is a rain drain pipe, its head being decorated with the

arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...

of Banastre of

Bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

, and the date 1719. On the top of each corner and on the east

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

end is a flaming-

urn An urn is a vase, often with a cover, with a typically narrowed neck above a rounded body and a footed pedestal. Describing a vessel as an "urn", as opposed to a vase or other terms, generally reflects its use rather than any particular shape ...

finial A finial () or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature. In architecture, it is a small decorative device, employed to emphasize the Apex (geometry), apex of a dome, spire, tower, roo ...

. Around the summit of the apse is a modillioned

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative Moulding (decorative), moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, ar ...

. At the west end of the porch is a round-headed doorway with a keystone, on each side of which is a window similar to those on the sides. Rising above this, the west end of the church and the lower part of the tower are

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and ...

ed. On each side of the tower is a small round-headed window, and an even smaller round-headed window is in the lower part of the tower. The tower is thin and oblong. On each side of the tower, above a

string course A belt course, also called a string course or sill course, is a continuous row or layer of stones or brick set in a wall. Set in line with window sills, it helps to make the horizontal line of the sills visually more prominent. Set between the ...

, is a louvred bell opening with a triangular head, and around the top of the tower is a moulded cornice. On its summit is a rotunda consisting of a

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, usually dome-like structure on top of a building often crowning a larger roof or dome. Cupolas often serve as a roof lantern to admit light and air or as a lookout. The word derives, via Ital ...

carried on columns, surmounted by a

weathervane A wind vane, weather vane, or weathercock is an list of weather instruments, instrument used for showing the wind direction, direction of the wind. It is typically used as an architectural ornament to the highest point of a building. The word ' ...

. The turret had two bells but one was moved to Holy Trinity. The remaining bell is dated 1824.

Interior

The porch incorporates a

vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government of a parish in England, Wales and some English colony, English colonies. At their height, the vestries were the only form of local government in many places and spen ...

and stairs leading to the panelled gallery which is supported by square fluted columns and occupies the west and south sides. At the east end are

box pew A box pew is a type of church pew that is encased in panelling and was prevalent in England and other Protestant countries from the 16th to early 19th centuries. History in England Before the rise of Protestantism, seating was not customary in c ...

s created for George Anthony Legh Keck of Bank Hall while the west end has open benches. In the centre of the north side is a reading desk. The church has an octagonal panelled

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, accesse ...

, an 18th-century

font In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a ''typeface'', defined as the set of fonts that share an overall design. For instance, the typeface Bauer Bodoni (shown in the figure) includes fonts " Roman" (or "regul ...

in the form of a simple

baluster A baluster () is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its ...

, a 19th-century

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...

stove decorated with wreaths standing on claw feet and a flagged floor. The church has no electricity but oil lamps are suspended over the aisle. It is unheated since the chimney for the stove was removed. The organ is a type of American

harmonium The pump organ or reed organ is a type of organ that uses free reeds to generate sound, with air passing over vibrating thin metal strips mounted in a frame. Types include the pressure-based harmonium, the suction reed organ (which employs a va ...

which has pedals to operate its bellows.

External features

Robert Crompton Fletcher,

Archdeacon of Blackburn The Archdeacon of Blackburn is a senior ecclesiastical officer within the Diocese of Blackburn. Originally created on 17 August 1877 within the Anglican Diocese of Manchester, Diocese of Manchester, the office became a part of the new Diocese of B ...

from 1901 to 1916, is buried in the churchyard. In addition there are the war graves of four soldiers of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and an

airman An airman is a member of an air force or air arm of a nation's armed forces. In certain air forces, it can also refer to a specific enlisted rank. An airman can also be referred to as a soldier in other definitions. As a military rank designat ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Present day

The churchyard remains in use and is maintained by volunteers who also open the church to visitors on

Heritage Open Days Heritage Open Days (also known as HODs) is an annual celebration of England's history and culture that allows visitors free access to heritage sites and community events that are either not usually open to the public, would normally charge an ent ...

in September. An annual church service on the fourth Sunday in August is known as 'Old Church Sunday' when the service usually held in Holy Trinity Church is held in St Mary's. The tradition began when Holy Trinity opened in 1886, and the services transferred there.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tarleton, St Mary's Church Grade II* listed churches in Lancashire Churches completed in 1719 18th-century Church of England church buildings Churches completed in 1824 Georgian architecture in England Churches preserved by the Churches Conservation Trust Churches in the Borough of West Lancashire Church of England church buildings in Lancashire 1525 establishments in England