Sacred Heart, Thornton-Cleves

Introduction

Sacred Heart in Thornton-Cleves, in the Diocese of Lancaster, was built in 1899 by Pugin & Pugin. Baptisms and marriages are arranged by appointment, and preparation is required for both.

Architecture and furnishings

The church celebrated its 125th anniversary in April 2023. The church is built of rock-faced coursed dressed sandstone with red sandstone ashlar dressings beneath slate roofs. The church has a chancel at the west end under a single roof with two side chapels, each under its own roof, and a square tower at the east end. The church contains a circular millstone altar table and a marble pulpit.

The church has a fine balustraded timber balcony on arched supports running the full width of the nave, with the organ centrally placed on it. A rose window with curvilinear tracery is set at the west end of the chancel. The tower's east face contains a white stone statue of Christ on a hexagonal plinth within a recess. The chancel is covered by a barrel-vaulted roof.

The nave roof timbers form arched-braced collar beam trusses that support strutted king posts. A marble communion rail with gates extends across the full width of the nave. The north side chapel contains a marble font. A corbel table supports a string course on which the crenellated top of the tower stands.

The parish runs programmes for Baptism, First Holy Communion, Confirmation, Marriage and RCIA. The chancel is roofed with a plain semi-octagonal timber roof.