St John the Baptist, Burnley

Introduction

St John the Baptist, Burnley, in the Diocese of Salford, is an urban Gothic Revival church built beside a cotton mill with Lady O'Hagan as benefactress.

History

The mission was founded in 1891 from St Mary's, Burnley, with Mass initially said in a room over a blacksmith's shop in Elm Street. In about 1901, Lady O'Hagan donated a strip of adjoining land for a new church and presbytery; Oswald Hill designed a new presbytery completed in 1904. The foundation stone for the new church was laid by Bishop Casartelli on 22 August 1908, who opened and dedicated it on 2 May 1909. In 1921, the church was painted by Reuben Bernett of Manchester in a 'high class Ecclesiastical manner' as part of a war memorial.

The high altar was consecrated on 4 November 1922 by Bishop Hanlan, with the main war memorial completed in 1922 by R. J. Boulton & Sons. In 1926, the east window was erected as a memorial to Fr W. Shine (died 1925), designed and erected by Messrs Charles Lightfoot Ltd of Manchester. In 1934, a new organ was installed and the interior redecorated by R. Nicholson of Longridge, who also designed the pictorial decorations including painted angels in the spandrels. In December 1963, a new pipe organ by Messrs Jardine of Old Trafford, Manchester, was installed. In 1974, the interior was reordered by Messrs Alberti Lupton, which included the removal of the carved alabaster reredos.

Architecture and furnishings

The church is built using local sandstone ashlar with slate roofs, with a directional plan of a nave with side aisles and a three-sided apse. The interior has a five-bay nave with an additional narrow bay for the gallery, with a panelled roof above the arch brace. The Lady Chapel at the northeast has a statue of Our Lady Queen of Heaven, and painted Marian monograms on a panelled ceiling. The altar is that of 1922, moved forward in 1974, mostly of white marble with a central carved panel of the Agnus Dei, flanked by panels of red Skyros marble and columns of green vert des alpes marble.

The east window has stained glass of the Sacred Heart and St John the Baptist (1926, Messrs Charles Lightfoot Ltd of Manchester). The west window has seven stained glass medallions originally from St Augustine's church, Granby Row. At the west end of the south aisle are the former altar rails, and the First World War memorial tablet with a carving of the crucifixion, both of marble and alabaster and dating to 1922. The west elevation features a slightly projecting central bay framed by buttresses, with a pointed-arched west doorway and a five-light west window with cusped Y-tracery.

The east walls of the side chapels have six-foil rose windows, while the apse has three two-light windows with cusping. The nave arcade has moulded pointed arches on octagonal sandstone columns, with unpainted columns and bases but painted capitals and everything above. The sanctuary has painted monograms on the panelled ceiling, and the floor is of white and coloured marble, probably of 1974. Off the south aisle is one confessional, beside the sacristy at the southeast; originally there was a second confessional, later demolished.

In 1922, a new font was unveiled, funded and erected by John and Patrick Cummings in memory of their parents. There are angels painted in the spandrels of the arcade, possibly those painted in 1934 by R. Nicholson. To the north of the area in front of the sanctuary is the fine marble and alabaster font of 1922, with an octagonal bowl, a central stem and four colonettes. The tabernacle stand is of white marble, from 1974.

The organ gallery with the pipe organ (1963, Messrs Jardine of Old Trafford, Manchester) has a plain timber balustrade and a three-arched front to the nave, filled with opaque glazing and central doors. Throughout the church there are statues of St Teresa, the Baptism of Christ, St Antony, St Joseph and the Christ Child, and of St Francis Xavier. The Stations are elaborately framed and painted plaster casts. In October 1962, the exterior of the church was painted. In 1972, the interior was redecorated.

Music and liturgy

The Burnley Pastoral C.D.A. group, formed 1980, enables the deaf community to celebrate and understand Mass in sign language, with the Lectionary and Sacramentary adapted. At Saint John's the Sacred Scriptures are read by volunteer Readers, with a rota for the Vigil and Sunday Masses. Readers also assist during each daily Mass, organised on a daily basis prior to the start of the Mass. Readers also contribute to funerals as and when required, usually organised by the Bereavement Team. There has been an SVP Conference at St John the Baptist since June 1905.

Parish life

The Tuesday afternoon Drop In provides two English classes for beginners and a learn English at home service. The Baptism Team at Saint John's Church works with the clergy in providing support and information to parents of children to be baptised. The Bereavement Ministry offers support and consolation to those who have experienced grief, especially during the first year of loss. The New Neighbours Scheme within St John's church inspired Caritas to set up Drop-In Centres in Rossendale and Wythenshawe.

Churches Working Together in Burnley brings together all the Christian churches to show a united presence in the town. The SVP Conference changed its name to The Good Samaritan SVP Conference following the naming of the Good Samaritan Parish.

The Legion of Mary work consists of attendance on a weekly meeting and the performance of a weekly task, with visits carried out in pairs mainly to the sick, housebound or elderly. The flower arranging group meets every two weeks to re-design the flower arrangements, with extra special arrangements for weddings and feast days.

Sacraments and pastoral care

The Eucharistic Ministers normally take Holy Communion to those who are sick or housebound. After hearing God's Word, the children are invited to complete a simple worksheet, which is then brought up in the offertory and presented by the children.

Notable people and events

Father Connor was appointed Rector of St John's, Ivy Street, in November 1913, in succession to Father Shine, serving nine years. In 1923 Fr Atkinson was appointed Parish Priest at St John the Baptist, Burnley, moving in 1928 to the Sacred Heart & St Edward, Darwen. William Fletcher was appointed Parish Priest at St John the Baptist, Burnley in 1930, served for 31 years, and was appointed an Honorary Canon in 1960.

Visiting

The oak altar in the Sacred Heart chapel at the southeast has the Agnus Dei, the IHS monogram, and the pelican in her piety on the frontal. The west gable has an ornate gable cross above two narrow ventilation openings. The west walls of the side aisles each have a single segmental-headed window of two lights with cusped tracery. The north elevation has a doorway at the west and a single-light window to the east, with clerestory windows of two-light Y-tracery and a single-light window to the west bay.

A centenary banner was made by parishioners for the 1991 centenary. A centenary floral festival was held at St John's.