St Silas' Church, Blackburn

Coordinates: 53°45′06″N 2°30′27″W / 53.7516°N 2.5074°W / 53.7516; -2.5074
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

St Silas' Church, Blackburn
Style
Gothic Revival
Groundbreaking1894
Completed1914
Specifications
Spire height104 feet (32 m) (tower)
MaterialsSandstone, slate roofs
Administration
ProvinceYork
DioceseBlackburn
ArchdeaconryBlackburn
DeaneryBlackburn with Darwen
ParishSt Silas, Blackburn
Clergy
Priest(s)Reverend Sheelagh Aston
Laity
Churchwarden(s)Alan Inglis,
Frank Anderton

St Silas' Church is in Preston New Road,

Anglican parish church in the deanery of Blackburn with Darwen, the archdeaconry of Blackburn, and the diocese of Blackburn.[1] The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.[2]

History

St Silas' was designed in 1878 by the

Paley and Austin, but building did not start until 1894. The first phase was completed by 1898, this did not include the tower.[2][3][4] The church cost £10,000 (equivalent to £1,410,000 in 2023),[5] and provided seating for 609 people.[6] The tower, measuring 104 feet (32 m) in height, was not added until 1913–14.[2][3][7] At the same time a porch was built, but the planned spire was never added; this phase cost over £6,000.[8] Before the church was built, services had been held from 1846 in a nearby Sunday school, and then in a school built in 1884–85.[2]

Architecture

Exterior

The church is constructed in sandstone with freestone dressings. The external walls are in yellow sandstone; the internal walls in red sandstone. The roofs are slated. Its plan consists of a nave with north and south aisles, a southwest porch, a north transept containing the organ chamber, a south transept comprising a chapel, a chancel with a north vestry, another vestry in the angle between the south transept and aisle, and a west tower.[2] The architectural style is Gothic Revival, described in the National Heritage List as Perpendicular,[2] and by the authors of the Buildings of England series as Decorated.[3] The tower is in three stages, with angle buttresses, and a polygonal stair turret at the southwest corner that rises to a level higher than the tower.[2][3] On the summit of the tower are pierced embattled parapets and pinnacles. The tower has a west doorway, above which is a five-light window. In its middle stage are pairs of ogee-headed windows, clock faces, and a frieze of shields. The top stage contains louvred bell openings, one on the south side, and two in pairs on each of the other sides. Along the walls of the aisles are large four-light windows. The porch is tall with an embattled parapet, canted angles, and angle buttresses. Above its moulded entrance arch is a statue of Saint Silas in a niche surmounted by a pinnacle. The transepts contain pairs of square-headed two-light windows, and have embattled parapets. The chancel has a south square-headed two-light window, a seven-light east window, a parapet of blind quatrefoils, and a southeast turret with a spirelet.[2]

Interior

The appearance of the interior of the church is "one of spaciousness, nobility and grandeur imparted by the handling of the proportions".

Presentation of Jesus at the Temple. In addition there is a window designed by Henry Holiday towards the end of his career in 1921–23, which depicts Old Testament figures, including David and Gideon with angels.[3] The three-manual organ was built in 1904 by Harrison and Harrison of Durham. It was altered in 1925 by the same firm, and in 1991 by J. Corkhill of Wigan.[9] There is a ring of eight bells, all of which were cast in 1888 by John Taylor and Company of Loughborough.[10]

See also

References

  1. ^ St Silas, Blackburn, Church of England, retrieved 7 December 2011
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Historic England, "Church of St Silas, Blackburn (1239161)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 7 December 2011
  3. ^ a b c d e f Hartwell & Pevsner 2009, p. 122.
  4. ^ Brandwood et al. 2012, pp. 159, 241.
  5. ^ UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017), "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)", MeasuringWorth, retrieved 7 May 2024
  6. ^ Brandwood et al. 2012, pp. 241.
  7. ^ Brandwood et al. 2012, pp. 159, 248.
  8. ^ Brandwood et al. 2012, pp. 248.
  9. National Pipe Organ Register, British Institute of Organ Studies
    , retrieved 2 July 2020
  10. ^ Blackburn, S Silas, Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers, retrieved 7 December 2011

Bibliography

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