Extracts from ‘A Short History of the Church and Schools of Saint John the Evengelist, Accrington By Margaret Haworth
Further Extracts from the thesis of St. Johns Church By Margaret Haworth
A Tour around St. John the Evangelist Church Accrington
St. Johns Church Plan and Guide	1. East Window   2. Jack Isherwood Memorial   3. Brown Family Memorial   4. Harold Marshal Memorial   5. Iron Work Screen   6. St. John   7. St. James   8. St. Augustine   9. St. Deborah 10. Bishop Fraser 11. Good Samaritan 12. Riley Family Memorial 13. St. John the Baptist 14. Transfiguration 15. Incumbents List 16. Place/Salthouse Memorial 17. War Memorials 18. Sermon on the Mount 19. Good Shepherd 20. St. Mary Magdalene 21. Isaiah 22. St. Mark 23. King David
St. John’s was built as a sister or outreach church from St. James’s in the town centre. Construction began in the late 1860’s chiefly at the instigation of Revd. George Garbett.
1. It is therefore appropriate to begin a tour of the church at the East Window which is the oldest window in the church dedicated to the Revd. Garbett. Unfortunately he didn’t live to see the  building completed. The window depicts Christ in glorious robes holding the orb. He is flanked by St. Peter and St.  Mary with their symbols shown beneath their feet. The symbols beneath Christ’s feet are those of the crucifixion, the crown of thorns, the hammer and nails, the whip, the sponge on a stick and the cloak. Not easy to see are the three dice. The window was designed and made by the London firm of Lavers, Barraud and Westlake.
2. On the left of the East Window is a modern etched glass window in memory of Jack Isherwood who is mostly remembered in East Lancashire cricketing circles.
3. Proceeding to the ambulatory the aumbry is in memory of Cliff Collinson, a parishioner largely responsible for the creation of the Pals Chapel in St. John’s. The modern window in the ambulatory is a beautiful example of the work of Tom Denny donated by the Brown Family. Dennis Browns’ parents had started The Whitewell Icecream Business and on the Revd. Dennis Crook’s suggestion wanted a window to represent Whitewell. Peter Burman (Council for the Care of Churches) was asked to approach Tom Denny to design it. The theme is taken from a verse in Isaiah. It depicts the hills, mountains, streams, waterfalls and beautiful landscape. It is often mistakenly thought to depict the “Road to Emmaeus” Tom Denny was also commissioned to design a window in Gloucester Cathedral.
4.   Also in the ambulatory is the memorial to Harold Marshall who for a long time was in charge of the music in the church.
5. The screen is a particularly fine example of iron work and if you look carefully you will find that one stem has two leaves and not three like all the others. Maybe this was to show that only God is perfect.
6.   We come now to the South transept with its very interesting windows. The first one is of St. John by the London firm of Lavers and Westlake. The inscription reads “To the glory of God and in loving memory of Revd. J.M.” This window marks a tragedy in the parish. Revd. John Harris was a curate at St. John’s from 1886 to 1894. He is described as an excellent baritone singer, an athlete. Tall, good looking and a preacher of some power. But unfortunately he suffered from melancholia, was prone to fainting fits and depression. When he was “low” he could not face people. All his proved too much for him and on 2nd December 1894 he shot himself; he was 34 years of age.
7. The next window is appropriately of St. John’s brother, St. James. James is the patron saint of pilgrims and is shown here with the symbols of pilgrimage, the staff the water bottle and the scallop shell.
8. Following St. James is St. Augustine of Kent not the St. Augustine of our sister church but St. Augustine of Kent the first Archbishop of Canterbury. This window is thought to be the work of the Lancaster firm of Shrigley & Hunt.
9. Next we come to a lady, St. Deborah who from all accounts was quite a personality. She succeeded by force of her natural authority to unite most of the tribes of Israel to fight against the Canaanites, winning a great victory. She was looked up to as a “Mother of Israel”The window is dedicated to the members of the Mothers   Class who passed into rest between 1895 -1909. The Mothers’ Class was probably the forerunner of the Mothers’ Union.
10. We come now to a very striking window which is almost a portrait of Bishop Fraser who as Bishop of Manchester on 29th September 1870 consecrated St. John’s Church. A very energetic man, Bishop Fraser in the first three years after he was installed got to know his 750 clergy, visited 320 churches, consecrating 26. He held 160 confirmations and confirmed over 29,000 candidates. He was also involved in social work and education. He was a man of great kindness and prodigious energy who “belonged to the people” The Bishop was described as a physically striking man and this window certainly portrays him as such.Shrigley and Hunt Window.
11. On the South Wall of the church is a window depicting the parable of the Good Samaritan. The window is dedicated to the memory of Benjamin Hargreaves a very well known figure in Accrington’s past. Born into the family which owned the Broad Oak Calico Printing Works he was educated locally before joining the firm he is credited with the discovery of cochineal amaranth as used n the colouring process.Much travelled he returned to the town and became one   of its leading citizens and benefactors. He paid for half     the costs of St. John’s (6,200) and paid the total cost of the spire. He was very interested in church schools, helping to pay for St. John’s 1871 and a school in   Plantation Street is named after him.A great benefactor in the best Victorian tradition.
12. Further along the South Wall is a modern etched glass window in memory of the Riley family, this was placed here by Miss Edna Riley who was for over 40 years a teacher and Head teacher here at St. John’s school.
13. Now we are in the baptistery, the window here is of St. John the Baptist. The two windows show the baptism of Jesus and Jesus teaching children both appropriate for a baptistery. The window was given by a Mr. Spencer and many donations were received from “nonconformists” The font itself has a particularly fine suspended cover.
14. High above the gallery we can see the West Window, this is regarded by some experts as the best window in the church. Made by Shrigley and Hunt of Lancaster it depicts the Transfiguration of Christ. The window is in three sections, the central section showing Christ with St. John at his feet, the left section showing Moses with a disciple, possibly Peter. The right section showing Elijah with James. Angels are depicted in all the sections. The window was given by Alice Pilkington at Easter 1997, probably to mark the 50th year of Queen Victoria’s reign. This lady also gave the money for the original organ used in the church until 1985.
15. On the wall at the back of church is a list of the incumbents of St. John’s.
16. The glass in the porch is some of the early work of Brain Clarke and is in memory of two former Head teachers of the Infant and Junior schools. Mr. Harry Place and Miss Grace Salthouse. The etched glass shows the symbols of St. Peter and St. John. Brian Clarke is now a world famous stained glass artist who has worked with Sir Norman Foster and other architects.
17. Moving to the North Wall we can see the two war memorials, the larger one for the First World War which as we shall see has more significance for St. John’s.A plaque with the emblem of the Royal marines who hold an annual service in St. John’s can be seen on the North Wall.
18. Also on the North Wall we have the first of two windows, the first one illustrates the Sermon on the Mount with the “Blessed are the pure in heart” It shows Christ with St. John in the right side and five adults and two children listening to his words on the left. The window is in memory of Mr. Thomas Wilson for 23 years a churchwarden in the 19th Century. Jones and Willis of Liverpool Window.
19.   Next is the Good Shepherd window placed in memory of the Rev. Joseph Ormandy who was vicar of the Parish for 25 years, his portrait can be seen in the vestry. It is a richly colourful window which unfortunately is not revealed until late afternoon when the sun has moved to the North side of the church. We finally come to the Pals Chapel which is probably the most well know feature of St. John’s. The Chapel is a memorial to the men of the 11th (Service) Battalion of the East Lancashire Regiment which was raised in 1914 in Accrington and the surrounding districts. 36 officers and 1,076 men volunteered in ten days. The battalion became known as the Accrington Pals. They trained in the town until the 21st February 1915 when a farewell service was held here in St.John’s. Two days later 16,000 people lined the streets to watch the Pals march to the train. On the 1st of July 1916 at the First Battle of the Somme 230 Pals were killed and 350 wounded in the space of 20 minutes. No memorial to the Pals existed in the town until the chapel was dedicated on 23rd February 1992. The Chapel is a place of great dignity and beauty. The pews are Mahogany, the floor is Portuguese limestone and the altar is made of stone. A book of Remembrance with the names of the entire Pals’ can be seen as well as those of men from Accrington who served with other regiments.The Toc H lamp was donated to the Pals by the Earl of Clarendon and the drum used to recruit men to the Battalion and which went with the Pals’ was presented to the Chapel by Major Jerry Rickman. The son of Lt. Col. A.W. Rickman the Commanding Officer of the Pals’. A casket of soil from the Somme Battlefield is also on display. There are 8 plaques and banners around the Chapel, representing the infantry Regiments of Lancashire and one Yorkshire Regiment. An annual service is held on the Sunday nearest the 21st February in the church in honour of the Pals’ which is attended by service organisations from all over Lancashire and beyond.
20. It is also worth taking a closer look at the windows in the Chapel. The first one is of St. Mary Magdalene who is shown wearing a pair of very modern sturdy shoes! She is holding the jar of perfume with which she anointed Jesus’ feet and her long hair flows down her face, installed in 1929 it is one of the later windows in the church.
21.   Next to Mary is Isaiah the prophet who is depicted with the Lamb of God.
22. The last window on the North side of the Chapel is a splendidly modern window of St. Mark by Jane Gray. The Saint holds the book of the Gospel surrounded by a rich blue background with stars (inspired by St. Mark’s Venice), at his feet is a friendly looking winged lion. The window is in memory of Robert Hanson a parishioner of this parish and a precision engineer by profession. St. Mark was chosen because it was his favourite gospel, appropriate too as Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were areas of the Somme.
23. The final window in the chapel is not of a saint but of King David. Seen as the author of the Psalms he is depicted wearing a crown and carrying his eight-stringed harp. No reference seems to be made to his exploit in slaying Goliath. But as the window is in memory of John Parkinson a choir member 12 years perhaps the musical reference is more appropriate.
In the vestry portraits of the first four incumbents can be seen all very sombre looking. We hope that you have enjoyed reading this brief tour of our church and that you will have the opportunity to visit the church for real in the very near future. All enquiries to:savestjohns@googlemail.com   Composed and used with the kind permission of Frank Hodgkinson. Photographs courtesy of Andrew Jackson, Andrew Whitehead and Marilyn Hoyle
Extracts from ‘A Short History of the Church and Schools of Saint John the Evengelist, Accrington By Margaret Haworth The article from which these extracts were taken was written in 1966.
About 1868, a part of the congregation from St. James’ Church, Accrington formed a Sunday school in a room over a joiners shop in Burnley Road.   It is not many years since the building was demolished although the wall in Burnley Road is still there.  This is opposite Friar Court.  The church used the upper floor.   When I researched the thesis in 1966, I visited the building which was owned by Mr. Gordon Moore  and was a Springmakers.  Mr. Moore told me that when his father first occupied the premises forty years ago (which would be in the 1920’s), he was informed by an old man who was a scholar at the Sunday school that the pulpit was next to an opening in the wall which led to the cottage next door.  (This cottage was demolished at the same time as the works).  The officiating minister came from the cottage to officiate at services.  At the time that I visited, the ceiling in the ground floor had been removed and one could see the opening in the wall of the upper room.  There was much building in this part of Accrington and the people wanted their own church.  It also was the time of the American Civil War and the people were suffering many hardships.  There were soup kitchens in Accrington.  The land for the church was given by Mr. Jonathan Peel of Accrington House and later of Knowmere Manor.  Jonathan’s  father was first cousin to Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel.  The foundation stone of the new Church was laid on Friday, the 5th of August 1864 by Bishop Prince Lee, Bishop of Manchester.  £3,300 had been subscribed towards the cost of the church.  The Rev. George Garbett, the vicar of St. James’ Church was in charge of the arrangements for the new church, the two curates, Rev. H.M.C. Price and Rev. J. Ormandy conducted services alternately at the Burnley Road mission Church..  On the 30th of December 1865 the site of St. John’s Church was conveyed to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners.  The deed was deposited in the Registry of the Diocese of Manchester.  The Rev. Price would have been the first vicar of St. John’s but before the legal formalities could be completed, he was preferred to the rectory of St. Marks, Droylsden, Lancashire.  When the Rev. J. Rogers became the incumbent of St. James Church, one his first official duties was to nominate the Rev. J. Ormandy to the benefice. On August 15th 1868 (August Fair Friday), there was a procession of the Sunday School scholars of St. Johns.  The route of the procession was along Wellington Street, Abbey Street and Avenue Parade.  There were 250 scholars and 21 teachers.  Afterwards each scholar received 2 pence and a bun. On Saturday October 17th 1868, the new church of St. John the Evangelist was officially opened.  The estimated cost was £4,500 but it actually cost £6,260 exclusive of the spire which was the gift of Benjamin Hargreaves Esq.  The church was originally planned to occupy the S.W. corner of the plot upon which it now stands, leaving a space on the side next to the railway for the erection of a school at a future time but Mr. Peel promised another site for the school so the church was placed in the centre of the plot.  The nave is 92’ long, and 40’ wide and has one clear span of roof, it differs in this from other churches generally erected at that time.  Two transepts 26’ wide, 21’ deep, are separated from the nave by stone arches springing from the carved caps of half columns on each side.  The baptistery is in the S.W. corner of the nave under the tower.  The church is paved with plain coloured tiles arranged in a pattern.  The first preacher in the new church was the Rev. B.T. Haslewood, M.A., Rector of Ribchester.  Collections during the week realized upwards of £200 and this reduced the debt on the church to about £500.  The first baptism in the church was that of John Priestley Briggs, son of John and Ellen Briggs of Accrington, who was born on the 11th of September 1868 and baptized on the 17th of October 1868.   The church was consecrated on Thursday, September 29th 1870 by Bishop Frazer, the Lord Bishop of Manchester, it being the seventh church that he consecrated.  The collection realised £197-12-6d. of which £26 was in gold.  There was seating in the church for 882 persons, 441 seats were appropriated and 411 seats were free.  After the service of consecration, the Bishop and 195 clergy and laity were served with a sumptuous luncheon at the Peel Institution (now the Town Hall).  The caterers were Mr. and Mrs. Walmsley of the Hargreaves Arms Hotel.  Mr. Benjamin Hargreaves was in the chair.  Accrington in 1870 had a population of about 20,000 inhabitants.  The population of St. John’s parish in 1872 was a little over 4,000 but the following figures will give an idea of the tremendous growth of population.
St. Johns Parish. 1881                         3,619 houses                      7, 724 inhabitants 1891                         2,193 houses                      10,389 inhabitants 1901                         2,606 houses                      11,618 inhabitants
Since the consecration of the church, large sums have been raised and spent on it.  Originally there was no boundary wall or choir vestry.  These have been built and also the ceiling of the nave; the gallery has been lowered.  The church has been enriched by many individual gifts.  The Pulpit was given by Bishop Macrorie, Bishop of Maritzburg who was Vicar of St. James from 1866 – 1868, and the font was given by his wife.  The Brass Lecturn was given by the Teachers and scholars of St. John’s Sunday School when they occupied the building in Burnley Road.  The organ which was built by ‘Father’ Willis, the most celebrated of English organ builders was given by Miss A.A. Pilkington as a Queen Victoria Jubilee Gift.  The carved oak chairs were given by Mrs. Law of Willow House.  The Communion Plate was given by Mr. McDonald of North Wales.  The extra chalice was the joint gift of Canon Rogers, Rev. J. Ormandy and Mr. T. Wilson, a churchwarden, on the Church attaining its majority.  The central panel in the Reredos was given by the Rev. J. Ormandy.  Eight flower vases, were the gift of Mrs. A.A. Gatty, and six vases the gift of the young Womens Guild and the latter also gave a prayer desk in 1922.  The Font Canopy was given by the widow, brothers and sisters of Mr. John Turner.  The Brass Plate affixed to a pillar in the South Aisle was erected by the congregation and friends of memory of Mr. D.L. Sprake, warden of the Church for 32 years and a manager of the Day Schools.  The Chancel Screen was erected in March 1911 in memory of the Rev. George Lomas, M.A., Vicar of the parish for 15 years, by his widow, parishioners and friends.  The Ringing Apparatus was installed by Public subscription to commemorate the jubilee of the opening of the church 1868 – 1918.  The Clock in the Vestry was given in memory of  Mr. George Edward Bird, who died March 28th 1901 and the chair in the porch was given in memory of Mr. Walter Heaton, 1905.  The War Memorial in the north Aisle gives the names of the young men of the parish who died in the 1914 -1918 war.  Another memorial next to it commemorates the fallen of the parish in the 1939 – 1945 war.  The Hymn boards  were made and given by Mr. William Henry Place in memory of his daughter Janie who died in infancy.  Recently (This was written in 1966) there have been many gifts to the church.  The Bible on the Lecturn was given by Mr. David Bailey in memory or his son Kenneth who was killed in the 1939 – 1945 war, and Mr. Bailey gave the New English Bible to the Church.  In 1964, Mr. Bailey gave the beautiful wooden cross and Alpha and Omega symbols which are placed over the entrance to the Vestry, in memory of his wife Mr. Amy U. Bailey.  The Alms dishes were given in 1955 in memory of Mr. William Rushworth and Mr. Joseph Whittaker, two long-serving members of the Choir.  The Church Warden’s Staves were given in memory of Mr. Alexander Jackson, for many years a Churchwarden and Day School Manager, by the congregation of St. Johns Church and also by Mr. Jackson’s son.  The Psalm Boards in memory of Mr. Jane Marsland were given by her daughter Mrs. Eglin.  The Altar frontal was  given in 1966 by the Mothers Union.
Further Extracts from the thesis of St. Johns Church By Margaret Haworth
The Parish of St. Johns.
On the 24th of March 1871, a district chapelry was assigned to St. Johns.  The area of St. Johns district was in 1871, 440 statute acres.  The length from South to North was 1 mile 180 yards and the width from West to East 1 mile 30 yards.  The original boundaries commenced at the N.W. point at Dyke Nook, along the Easterly side of Whalley Road and Abbey Street to the junction of Birtwistle Street, along the North side of Birtwistle Street and the easterly side of Law Street.  From Birtwistle Street to Plantation Mill Street, then along the last named to Plantation Mill Road to the boundary fence between the land of Jonathan Peel Esq. near Accrington House and Benjamin Hargreaves’ land near Arden, the fence is followed from Plantation Mill Road to the Brook, then along the Brook to near Plantation Mill Print works.  Then on to the boundary fence dividing Mr. Peels land from Mr. Hargreaves land and along the S.E. fence wall of North Rake Copy to the boundary of Accrington and Huncoat townships, near “Ing Field” or “Priscillas “ Farm. The Eastern boundary extends from the last named point at the S.W. corner of North Rake Copy along the boundary between Old Accrington and Huncoat by Hillock Bank and across the Railway near the Accrington cemetery and along the townships boundary to the junction with the township of Altham.  The North Boundary follows the division fence between the townships of Old Accrington and Altham from the junction of the said townships with Huncoat and extends in the westerly direction past Sankey House to the Western boundary at Whalley Road near Dyke Nook. On June 27th 1913, a consolidate chapelry was consigned to the Church of St. Pauls, Accrington.  Part of St. Johns parish together with part of Christ Church’s parish were taken to form the new parish. The boundaries of the parish of St. Johns were again altered on the 8th May 1928 when territory was taken from St. Johns and annexed to the parish of St. Mary Magdalen, Accrington, the church of which was opened in 1895.  The portion relinquished was bounded on the North by the chapelry of Altham, on the West by St. Mary Magdalens Parish and South and East by an imaginary line commencing on the boundary which divides St. Mary Magdanens parish from St. Johns parish at the junction of Whalley Road with Owen Street and extending N.E. along the middle of Owen Street to the junction with Haywood Street, along the middle of Haywood Street to the junction with Queens Road, Northwards along the middle of Haywood Road to the junction with Livingstone Road and then in a straight line to a point near the North side of Livingstone Road upon the boundary.