St. Michael and St. John, Clitheroe

Introduction

Saint Michael and Saint John in Clitheroe is a Roman Catholic church built between 1847 and 1850 to designs by J A Hansom. The church is in the Early English Gothic Revival style. The church stands on its current site in Lowergate, Clitheroe.

History

In 1798 Thomas Weld presented several acres of land adjoining Lowergate to the Jesuits. In 1798 a new chapel was built in Lowergate. Joseph Aloysius Hansom designed the church in 1843. The church was opened on 20 June 1850.

The high altar was carved by stone masons Messrs' Strawbridge of Bristol. In 1884 a Lady Chapel was added, designed by Samuel Joseph Nicholl of London. In 1885 stained glass windows by Jean-Baptiste Capronnier of Brussels were installed in the apse. In 1899 the interior was redecorated and enriched under the direction of Edmund Kirby of Liverpool.

In 1959 the High Altar was renovated under direction of Wilfrid Mangan of Preston. In 2012 a C16 bell in the tower, brought to the church in the late C19, was restored.

Architecture and furnishings

The church has a principal west front flanked by towers which rise to octagonal belfrys. The church is built of random limestone with yellow smooth sandstone dressings, slate roofs and cast-iron rainwater goods. The church has an aisled nave with W baptistery, towers and porch and an apsidal sanctuary with attached Lady Chapel to the S. The E end is apsidal with seven tall lancet windows alternating with buttresses.

The W front is dominated by a pair of towers, square in plan with re-entrant angles. The sanctuary has a tall, wide arch with an encaustic tiled floor and a semi-domed roof with short hammer beams supported on corbels in the form of angels. The original high altar (modified 1950s) is reached by three steps. A screen wall to the rear is of panelled and traceried Travertine marble.

The seven lancet windows to the apse contain stained glass depicting seven scenes from the infancy and childhood of Christ by Capronnier of Brussels. The Lady Chapel has richly carved stonework and painted decoration; the floor is formed of mosaic work, marble and alabaster. The three-bay nave has moulded gothic arcades carried on stout circular stone piers. The nave roof is arched braced, each truss pierced towards the apex with quatrefoils.

The original plain benches with round-shouldered ends are retained and sit upon wooden platforms. The baptistery retains its cast iron gates and encaustic tile floor. The baptistery retains its octagonal font with trefoiled sides, set upon a trilobed base with a crown-like counter-balanced oak cover. The N aisle has a stained glass window of St Margaret of Scotland.

The W end has triple lancets with detached cylindrical shafts containing stained glass depicting the Assumption of the Virgin by Mayer & Co. Below the W window there is an original organ loft supported on a pair of slender columns. The original organ remains but was 'rebuilt' and probably divided at some time before 1921; in 1980 it was enlarged and the console removed. The church retains a suite of high quality features including the high altar, pulpit, original benches, Caen stone Stations of the Cross, an octagonal font and stained glass to the west window.

There are Caen stone Stations of the Cross by Martyn & Co of Cheltenham. Baptisms are arranged by appointment with the parish priest.