St Saviour's Church is in the village of Cuerden,

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 an active

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 ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), 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 com ...

in the deanery of Leyland, the archdeaconry of Blackburn and the diocese of Blackburn. 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, ...

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 ...

History

The church was built in 1836–37 to a Romanesque design by the Lancaster architect Edmund Sharpe. It was one of Sharpe's first commissions and one of his early churches in Romanesque style. The plan for the church was signed on 9 May 1836 by Sharpe, its estimated cost being £1,360 (equivalent to £ in ). The church was paid for mainly by public subscription. The foundation stone was laid on 28 July 1836 by Robert Townley Parker of Cuerdon Hall, who gave the land for the church. Townley Parker also gave £200 towards the cost of the church. As first built, it contained 450 seats. It was

consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

on 3 October 1837 by 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 ...

. In 1886, the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

and

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

s were added in a similar style by Thomas Harrison Myres. The foundation stone for this extension was laid on 17 July 1886, and the church was re-consecrated on 10 February 1887 by the

Bishop of Manchester The Bishop of Manchester is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Anglican Diocese of Manchester, Diocese of Manchester in the Province of York.) The current bishop is David Walker (Bishop of Manchester), David Walker who w ...

Architecture

St Saviour's is constructed in local

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

, with a Welsh

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

roof and red ridge tiles. Its plan consists of a five- bay

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 transepts, and a chancel with a semicircular

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 ' ...

. At the west end is a tower consisting of a two-stage square base, a two-stage octagonal drum and a spire. Internally is a gallery supported on cast iron columns, decorated with the Royal coat of arms. On the walls are monuments to the Townley Parker family. The

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 ...

dates from the early 20th century and consists of an octagonal bowl supported by angels and a bronze cover with a figure of St John the Baptist. The two- manual organ was built in 1889 by Alexander Young.

Churchyards

The main churchyard contains the Commonwealth war graves of three British service personnel 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 two of

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 ...

, and its churchyard extension three war graves of British soldiers of World War I.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cuerden, Saint Saviours Church Church of England church buildings in Lancashire Grade II listed churches in Lancashire Romanesque Revival church buildings in England Churches completed in 1837 19th-century Church of England church buildings Churches completed in 1886 Diocese of Blackburn Edmund Sharpe buildings Thomas Myres buildings Buildings and structures in South Ribble

History

Architecture

Churchyards

See also

References