Restoration and Additions; St John the Evangelist Pendlebury

CHURCH OF ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST, PENDLEBURY. On Sunday special services were held the Church of St. John the Evangelist, Pendlebury, to celebrate the completion of the restoration of the sacred edifice.

The chancel has been widened and lengthened, by continuing the floor in a westerly direction, and building low stone walls, north and south flanking the part that projects into the nave. These walls are surmounted by an oaken balustrade. Tho widening has been effected by corbelling the chancel arch, so getting more space in the centre. Four clearstorial windows have been pierced in the south wall of chancel, and these are treated inside as an arcade with shafted jambs, and moulded curtain arches. The choir stalls have been correspondingly lengthened. The monotonous arches of the fronts have been grouped. New and bolder bench ends have been provided. This re-arrangement of the chancel gives it a dignity which it has hitherto sadly lacked, and also gives more convenient space for communicants and clergy. Double sedilia of oak are provided on the south side of the sanctuary. The alter rail has been lowered to level more convenient to communicants and to clergy, and more satisfactory to the eye. The tiling of the chancel floor has been extended with the same patterns, but in the second medallion below the eagle of S. John are the words, "Thine eye shall see the King in His beauty." new brass gas standards and brackets have been fixed to the chancel, and the two outer lights of the east window have bad the glass a little re-arranged and reglazed. The new organ, by Messrs. Jardine and Co., is completed. New screens of oak and iron in the south and west arches of organ chambor are in process of design and consideration. The pulpit ha 3 been raised by the addition of a low stone base; a new cornice of carved oak has been given to it. The panels have been lightened and enriched by pierced tracery and small shafts. The steps have been turned westward for readier access, and foliated scroll has been added to the handrail. The font has had new cornice, has been lined with copper, and has had a step on the west side to raise the clergyman to a more convenient level. Suspended over the font is brass ball with a pendant cross, and four gaslights, for use when the baptismal service only is celebrated, and the evening. The baptistery a semi-circular projection from the west end, on the south side of the tower. moulded arch, with zig-zag ornament, • supported on north and south, on coupled columns, has been formed in the old west wall of the nave. Inside, there is moulded base, and above breadth of plain stone walling, is an arcade of arches round the baptistry. Three of the arches are pierced for windows, and the fourth which is next to the tower, contains panel of salviati, Italian gold, and enamel mosaic, with a baptismal inscription taken from the Prayer Book. Under the cornice is carved in prolecting letters "One Lord, one faith, one baptism" The roof of the baptistry is of oak. The subjects of these windows are : —The baptism of our Lord, and of the eunuth and the gaoler. Externally the baptistry is treated so as to fall in, and range as much as possible with the old lines of the building. The roof is covered with blue tiles, and the copper finial is a dove. A cornice with simply carved brackets supports the eaves gutter. The floor of the baptistery, which is of Oppenheimer's Keramic mosaic, an interweaving pattern, with symbols in the border. The roof, which was very bare and " underdrawn," or partly cut off at the apex, has been thrown open and strengthened, and otherwise provided with timbers of more seemly and appropriate design. The effect to the eye of this treatment has also been to give a loftier proportion to the nave. The arched timbers between the principals alternate design and spring from new stone cabels. New and bold cut cornices now emphasise the eaves. These are of different patterns on the north and south sides. Over the chancel arch on the east wall of nave is fixed oaken cross. On both sides of the tie-beams are texts of Scripture, painted in black letters. The three main porches have been improved, the north porch new oak door and wrought-iron hinges, handle, &c.; ahso by panelling all round inside in pitch pine, from floor to window-sills ; also by new windows,partly new quarries and partly bits of bright glass taken from a former nave window. The ceiling has been also panelled wood, and made fiat, to allow the new windows over it to be of greater height. The south porch has been treated much as that on the north side, but with little more elaboration. The door has been made less tall than before; and there is now a transome with a half-round tympanum, pierced with luatre-foiL. On the east wall there is a lantern earned on bracket. the west tower porch a good deal more has been done. This porch is arcaded all round with oaken shafts and arches. The ceiling is divided into panels with oak ribs. Tho staircase to the west-end gallery has been panelled off, with corresponding oak framing. Oyer tho east door of this porch is a medallion carved with the Agnus standing on a rock, from whence flow four rivers, symbobsing the four Gospels, and referring to the four rivers mentioned in the Book of Genesis. Tho south window is fitted with glass re- cently taken from the south-east corner of the nave. A new board for church notices, by the vicar and wardens, is fixed by the side of this window. | The ther side is occupied by a semi-octagonal case, which contains tbe weights of the church clock in the tower above. A bracketted lantern is on the south side of the inner door. The pavement is of Herefordshire tiles, in quiet pattern. The border round tbe porch contains the words of George Hubert's caution—"Brim? not plough, thy plots, thy pleasures hither. Christ purged His templo ;so must thou thy heart." Along the south wall, under the window, is the umbrella stand, providing for triple row, and for umbrellas of different lengths, while each remains where placed by its owner, without danger of slipping down. More being wanted, besides the four-light arcade in tbe chancel, a two-light window has been pierced in the north wall of the nave, over the porch; and over the south porch, a large rose window of early geometrical design has been inserted. This is filled with good stained glass of a floral pattern. All the nave windows inside have been dealt with. Stone shafted jambs, with moulded or cut arches of two alternate patterns, have been given to all, instead of the former bare plastered work. Tbe three windows or near the west end, and aich run up past the gallery, have coupled arches, formed on the internal plane of the walls, so as to mask the disfigurement caused by the gallery floor. The subjects of the glass in these windows are: —On the west side, the Annunciation; on the south side (near the baptistery) in the Temple ; on the north, SS. Matthew and Luke, with .Jentifying words of Scripture under each. The remaining windows of the nave are fitted with small squares of pale tinted glass, over which is painted foliage or flowers, different in each window. At the foot of each of the windows now being described is one of the Beatitudes, and in the upper part of each window is a symbol relating to the respective* Beatitudes. The old skylights over the gallery, which wero decayed, have been renewed, and made more sightly, with open framings and leaded glazing. The plain arch at the back of the west gallery has been fitted with a wooden-banelled screen, and with a wooden arch-mould, fitting in, or combining with, the roof timbers above. This description only pretends to be an outline; several more alterations or improvements than have been named have been effected. The work has grown as it has gone on, and the architects, Messrs. Medland and Henry Taylor, were eventually commissioned to make the restoration and improvement great deal more complete than was in the first instance contemplated. The services of the church have not been interrupted at all, but have continued the whole time. When the roof wa3 done scaffolding from which to work was hung up from the roof itself, that the nuisance of scaffold poles in the body of the church was avoided. In going round one sees and remembers other ne<v work. For instance, all the four inner doors, as seen from the church, used be perfectly plain boards, without relief of any sort. The north and south doors have now been recessed in the wall, so as to get rid of the flatness. Each of the four doors has been divided into panels, by affixing small moulded ribs thereon, some square, some diamond-wise. The west, or main inner door has been further dignified by small wooden pillars, and arched canopy. The north and south doors inside next the church have stone arched and corbelled heads and cornices. Over the south door are carved the words, " I will go forth in the strength of the Lord God." Until the last few months there was no protection from wind or cold to those sitting near the west door. Now a handsome pitch pine arcaded screen has been provided, extending the whole width of the central group of seats. This is covered over as a canopy towards the east. In the centre three panels . are glazed, so that there is a view of the chancel on entering the west porch, as there was before. The* two extreme panels, north and south, are hinged, to allow more room for coffins funerals. A ventilating shaft has been formed in the tower, which, with the aid of small gas stove, draws the vitiated air from the upper part of the church, and causes a constant supply of fresh air. At the west end, in the north-west corner, four-stalled seat for the warders and sides-men has been provided; or, rather, an ordinary bench has been divided into stalls, with a panelled back, against the north and south walls, just above the pews, and in order to prevent discolouration of the walls, sort of open panelling, or fretwork, has been fixed. On moving two of the wooden pillars which support the west gallery it was found that the timber was decayed so as to be removable easily with a knife, almost, in parts, with the fingers. These pillars, therefore, have to give place to new ones, which, for permanent security," are of cast-iron. The vestry, added four or five years ago, seemed hardly, or not as much as it should be, portion of the church. The vestry parapet has therefore been united to the south-east buttress of the church new masonry, and the excessive squareness of the parapet has been reduced by a simple battlement of an "early" type. The upper part of the south porch has received somewhat similar treatment, the gable having been cut off suit the new flat roof and ceiling. In the baptistery there will be memorial brass, setting forth that all the work now spoken of has been undertaken by Mr. Oliver Heywood as memorial of his wife. Mr. Thomas Scott, the builder, deserves a word of commendation. The work has not only been very well done, but done without giving annoyance or needless trouble to anyone concerned or interested. Under Mr Scott have worked Mr Hinchliffe, the mason, Mr Malloy, the plasterer, Mr Freeman, the metal worker. Messrs Earp and Hobbs have done the medallions and the stone carving, and Mr. Edward Hodgson most of the wood carving; Mr. Lea did the painting, including a diaper on the upper part of the east wall of the nave. A word about the architectural style may not out of place. This church, when it came into the hands of Messrs. M. and H. Taylor, was seen to be an exceedingly well-placed building, much ivy-covered, and with trees enough about to produce very pleasant general effect. The windows and doors were all round arched—quasi- Norman is perhaps the best descriptive word that can be found. But it lacked the main characteristics of the Norman style, viz., great massiveness of construction, thick walls, and so forth. In Normandy there are a large number of round-arched Gothic churches, much less massive than our English Norman, and with larger windows; and generally with details on smaller if not more delicate scale. These churches of Normandy have greatly helped and guided the architects in producing new work, which should be fresh and cool as possible; and which yet should be fairly in harmony with the thin walls, large windows, and other existing features he church. The outside the church has been touched as little as possible. The improvement or alterations have been mainly confined to the interior, with the object of making it more inviting and attractive, and more seemly and fitting for the celebration of Divine worship. [ Manchester Courier 10 October 1882 page 6]

Note    See Welch for the original church.

Reference    Manchester Guardian 9 October 1882 page 5 – abridged version
Reference    Manchester Courier 10 October 1882 page 6