The church was built to replace an earlier church that had been demolished in 1859. It was paid for by Thomas Miller, a Preston mill owner, who had purchased the Singleton estate. It was built between 1859 and 1860, and designed by the Lancaster architect E. G. Paley.[3] In 1938–39 the successors on Paley's practice, now known as Austin and Paley, added a vestry at a cost of £775.[4] The church was designated as a Grade II listed building on 11 June 1986.[2] Grade II listing is for buildings that are "nationally important and of special interest".[5]
Architecture
The church designed in the Early English style. It is constructed of sandstone rubble and has a slate roof. The plan consists of a nave, chancel, south transept and a steeple to the north-east. There are no aisles. The steeple has angled buttresses and is topped by a broach spire.[2] The authors of the Buildings of England series express the opinion that the steeple is "well-proportioned".[6] The windows have plate tracery; most are two-light and there are four-light dormers at the east end of the nave. The chancel has a wagon roof. Inside the church are monuments to the Miller family of Singleton Hall.[6]
Organ
The organ was installed c 1875, and built by the Huddersfield-based Peter Conacher. It is positioned in South chancel, and has a pleasing pipe rack. The instrument consists of two manuals and a radiating pedal board.
Pedal Keys 30 1 Bourdon 16
Great Keys 56
2 Open Diapason 8
3 Stop Diapason 8
4 Salicional 8
5 Principal 4
6 Flute 4
Couplers
Swell to Pedal
Swell to Great
Great to Pedal
Organists
Tony Brindle-Wills 2008 to present
Christopher Robinson 1998 - 2008
Others to be added following research
Choir
The church currently has a small choir of 6. In years gone by, the church had a full SATB robed choir. A visiting choir called "The Occasional Singers", regularly visit the church to perform at weddings and funerals. The church has over 20 weddings a year.
Bell Tower
The church does not have a resident group of bell-ringers. However, a group of bell-ringers from Kirkham attend the church for weddings.
External features
The church lychgate listed at Grade II. It is constructed of timber with a red tile roof. An inscription reads "T.H. Miller 1879".[7] The churchyard contains the war graves of two soldiers of World War I.[8]
Brandwood, Geoff; Austin, Tim; Hughes, John; Price, James (2012), The Architecture of Sharpe, Paley and Austin, Swindon: English Heritage, ISBN 978-1-84802-049-8
Hartwell, Clare; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2009) [1969], Lancashire: North, The Buildings of England, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, p. 613, ISBN 978-0-300-12667-9
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