Immanuel Church, Feniscowles
Encyclopedia
Immanuel Church, Feniscowles, is located in the village of Feniscowles
, near Blackburn, Lancashire
, England. It is an active Anglican
parish church
in the deanery of Blackburn with Darwen, the archdeaconry of Blackburn, and the diocese of Blackburn
. The church has been designated by English Heritage
as a Grade II listed building.
series Hartwell and Pevsner
credit the design to Revd J. W. Whittaker, the Vicar of Blackburn. In the National Heritage List for England it is credited to Whittaker's cousin, the Lancaster
architect Edmund Sharpe
. Whittaker certainly made the first design for the church, but whether this was replaced or amended by Sharpe is uncertain. The church cost £1,000 (£ as of ). The foundation stone was laid on 5 February 1835 by William Feilden, who had given the land for the church, and paid £100 towards its construction. The church was consecrated on 10 October 1836. It was restored in 1931–32 by Austin and Paley, the successors in Sharpe's practice. During the restoration the original box pew
s were removed, a pulpit
and chancel screen were added, the lower part of the walls were panelled, and the church was re-floored.
with a slate
roof. Its plan consists of a nave
and chancel
in one cell, a southwest porch, and a west tower with a spire. The tower is short, in two stages, and is embraced by the nave. It has diagonal buttress
es, a two-light west window, and rectangular louvred
bell openings. The spire is set back and contains lucarne
s. There were originally eight pinnacle
s, but these were removed because of erosion. The windows on the sides of the church are large and straight-headed, with Perpendicular tracery
. The east window contains Decorated tracery.
On the north side of the church are windows dating from the early 20th century by Heaton, Butler and Bayne
, and on the south side, dated 1907, are windows by Curtis, Ward and Hughes. The two-manual
organ in the west gallery was built by Jardine and Company in 1949, when some of the pipes from the earlier organ built in 1899 by Ernest Wadsworth were reused. The church bell is an ancient Javanese bell whose origin is unknown.
Feniscowles
Feniscowles is a village in the unitary authority of Blackburn with Darwen, Lancashire, England. It is situated approximately west of Blackburn...
, near Blackburn, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, England. It is an active Anglican
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
in the deanery of Blackburn with Darwen, the archdeaconry of Blackburn, and the diocese of Blackburn
Diocese of Blackburn
The Diocese of Blackburn is a Church of England diocese, covering much of Lancashire, created in 1926 from part of the Diocese of Manchester. The Diocese includes the towns of Blackburn, Blackpool, Burnley, and the cities of Lancaster, and Preston, as well as a large part of the Ribble Valley...
. The church has been designated by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
as a Grade II listed building.
History
The church was built in 1835–36. Its architect is uncertain. In the Buildings of EnglandPevsner Architectural Guides
The Pevsner Architectural Guides are a series of guide books to the architecture of the British Isles. Begun in the 1940s by art historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, the 46 volumes of the Buildings of England series were published between 1951 and 1975. The series was then extended to Scotland and...
series Hartwell and Pevsner
Nikolaus Pevsner
Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner, CBE, FBA was a German-born British scholar of history of art and, especially, of history of architecture...
credit the design to Revd J. W. Whittaker, the Vicar of Blackburn. In the National Heritage List for England it is credited to Whittaker's cousin, the Lancaster
Lancaster, Lancashire
Lancaster is the county town of Lancashire, England. It is situated on the River Lune and has a population of 45,952. Lancaster is a constituent settlement of the wider City of Lancaster, local government district which has a population of 133,914 and encompasses several outlying towns, including...
architect Edmund Sharpe
Edmund Sharpe
Edmund Sharpe was an English architect and engineer. He started his career as an architect, initially on his own, then in partnership with Edward Paley, designing mainly churches but also some secular buildings...
. Whittaker certainly made the first design for the church, but whether this was replaced or amended by Sharpe is uncertain. The church cost £1,000 (£ as of ). The foundation stone was laid on 5 February 1835 by William Feilden, who had given the land for the church, and paid £100 towards its construction. The church was consecrated on 10 October 1836. It was restored in 1931–32 by Austin and Paley, the successors in Sharpe's practice. During the restoration the original box pew
Box pew
Box pew is a type of church pew that is encased in panelling and was prevalent in England and other Protestant countries from the 16th to early 19th century.-History in England:...
s were removed, a pulpit
Pulpit
Pulpit is a speakers' stand in a church. In many Christian churches, there are two speakers' stands at the front of the church. Typically, the one on the left is called the pulpit...
and chancel screen were added, the lower part of the walls were panelled, and the church was re-floored.
Exterior
Immanuel Church is constructed in gritstoneGritstone
Gritstone or Grit is a hard, coarse-grained, siliceous sandstone. This term is especially applied to such sandstones that are quarried for building material. British gritstone was used for millstones to mill flour, to grind wood into pulp for paper and for grindstones to sharpen blades. "Grit" is...
with a slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
roof. Its plan consists of a nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
and chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
in one cell, a southwest porch, and a west tower with a spire. The tower is short, in two stages, and is embraced by the nave. It has diagonal buttress
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
es, a two-light west window, and rectangular louvred
Louver
A louver or louvre , from the French l'ouvert; "the open one") is a window, blind or shutter with horizontal slats that are angled to admit light and air, but to keep out rain, direct sunshine, and noise...
bell openings. The spire is set back and contains lucarne
Lucarne
A lucarne is a small dormer window that is built on a spire or roof during the Gothic and Romanesque time period....
s. There were originally eight pinnacle
Pinnacle
A pinnacle is an architectural ornament originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire...
s, but these were removed because of erosion. The windows on the sides of the church are large and straight-headed, with Perpendicular tracery
Tracery
In architecture, Tracery is the stonework elements that support the glass in a Gothic window. The term probably derives from the 'tracing floors' on which the complex patterns of late Gothic windows were laid out.-Plate tracery:...
. The east window contains Decorated tracery.
Interior
Inside the church is a west gallery carried on slim iron columns. The stained glass in the east window is dated 1861 and is possibly by Hardman & Co.Hardman & Co.
Hardman & Co., otherwise John Hardman Trading Co., Ltd., founded 1838, began manufacturing stained glass in 1844 and became one of the world's leading manufacturers of stained glass and ecclesiastical fittings...
On the north side of the church are windows dating from the early 20th century by Heaton, Butler and Bayne
Heaton, Butler and Bayne
Heaton, Butler and Bayne is the name of an English firm who produced stained glass windows from 1855 onwards.-History:Clement Heaton originally founded his own stained glass firm in 1852, joined by James Butler in 1855. Between 1859-61 they worked alongside Clayton and Bell and were joined by...
, and on the south side, dated 1907, are windows by Curtis, Ward and Hughes. The two-manual
Manual (music)
A manual is a keyboard designed to be played with the hands on a pipe organ, harpsichord, clavichord, electronic organ, or synthesizer. The term "manual" is used with regard to any hand keyboard on these instruments to distinguish it from the pedalboard, which is a keyboard that the organist plays...
organ in the west gallery was built by Jardine and Company in 1949, when some of the pipes from the earlier organ built in 1899 by Ernest Wadsworth were reused. The church bell is an ancient Javanese bell whose origin is unknown.