In
the early 1800s Mr. John Holt, Justice of the Peace, lived at Stubbylee
Hall in Bacup. An intensely religious individual he concerned himself with
the spiritual well being of the people who lived on his estate in the Lee
Mill area. His grand intention was to build a church however it was not to
be during his lifetime.
The nearest church to the estate was Saint Johns and it began to fall into
a state of disrepair bordering on collapse some years after Holt's death,
so his son, James Maden Holt, decided that he would build a new church at
Stubbylee. With the necessary consent granted by the then vicar of Saint
John's, the Rev. B. Tweedale, and of the diocese in which the church would
be built James Holt looked round for a suitable
clergyman to oversee the progress of work. The Reverend William
Whitworth, formerly the vicar of St. Jude's, Ancoats, accepted the
appointment and work commenced.
In
1854 a temporary place of worship was created in an old mill at Rockliffe
where the floor was covered with sawdust and pews were made by standing
benches on bricks. At the same time work began on the Sunday school at the
New Line site, where it stands to this day, and it was completed in 1858.
The congregation were addressed for the final time by
Mr. Whitworth in Rockliffe Mill and then a procession marched to
the new school for the grand opening. The upper part of the school was now
pressed into service as the church for the next
few years whilst the vicarage was built, Mr. Whitworth taking residence in 1860
just before work on the church proper commenced.
Saint Saviour's church was completed and consecrated on Monday, the 23rd of January, 1865, by the Lord Bishop
of Manchester, the Right Rev. J. Fraser and representatives of the local Wesleyan, Baptist and
Independent churches were present at the service. The entire £11,400 cost of
the building of the church (£8,000), Sunday school (£2,000) and vicarage
(£1,400), was financed by James Holt.
The architect employed by James Holt was E. Wyndham Tarn of London. The
church is 120 feet long and 53 feet wide and was built in the Early Pointed Gothic
style from local stone quarried on Mr. Holt's estate and with pillars of polished
red granite. Seated accommodation was provided for a congregation of 1,000
worshippers. The bell tower, which stands on the north side of the chancel, is surmounted by a
spire 150 feet in height. A small transept was built on the south side of
the church, and it was used originally as a pew for the Holt family, but later
the font was transferred to this chapel from its former position in the
chancel. The church contains a baptistry - a small dunking pool for want
of a better description - for the immersion of adults. It
is sunk in the chancel floor and is covered by an ornamental grating.
The above
information was obtained from the 1865 - 1965 Centenary Handbook...
When the
last vicar of Saint Saviour's, the Reverend Eddie Ashworth, retired in 1999, the parish became a joint
benefice
with Holy Trinity Church, Stacksteads. The Church held it's final service
in October 2007 and the parish then merged with Holy Trinity, Tunstead.
Since that time the church has been placed on the open market for sale at
a guide figure of around £200,000 however Rossendale Borough Council have
decreed that it shall not be used for housing and would prefer that it is
used instead as a sports venue or some sort of public amenity - fat chance
of selling it then!
On
our visit in summer 2012 we could see some substantial water ingress at
the road side elevation and numerous windows have already been broken. If
the council do not change their "requirements" then this once beautiful
church will soon go the way of all abandoned buildings and slide ever more
rapidly into decay and dereliction. But then when did a council ever do
anything in a sensible fashion?
To view the
'particulars of sale' please click the small photo to the right...
Below is a
selection of the photographs we took in and around Saint Saviour's
Church.
To
view any of the photographs in a far bigger size then click on the
image of your choice and it will open in a new window.
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