Euxton Parish Church is in the English village of

Euxton Euxton ( ) is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Chorley, Lancashire, England. The population at the 2011 census was 9,993, but is now estimated to be around 14,000 due to housing developments in the village, including at Buckshaw. ...

in the borough of

Chorley Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth ca ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

. It is an active

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

in the

Diocese of Blackburn The diocese of Blackburn is diocese of the Church of England in North West England. Its boundaries correspond to northern Lancashire. The diocese contains 211 parishes and 280 churches. Blackburn Cathedral is the seat of the bishop of Blackburn ...

and the

archdeaconry An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that of mo ...

of Blackburn. It is recorded in the

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, ...

as a designated Grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. The church has a

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

of 191.

History

The church probably dates from the 14th century, rebuilt about 1513 by the Molyneux family. Originally known as Burgh Chapel, the church was a

chapel of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently, generally due to trav ...

to St Andrew's Church, Leyland and was used as a Roman Catholic chapel until the late 17th or early 18th century, when it was transferred to the Church of England. The church was originally built as a chapel for Euxton Hall and bears a date stone with the initials of one of the Molyneux family who were the owners of the chapel and Euxton Hall from the 14th century.

Architecture

Exterior

There is a commonality between the appearance of Euxton Parish Church and the oldest parts of neighbouring 14th-century church in Eccleston. Having evolved from a small family chapel into a local parish church, the exterior of the church has seen several stages of modifications, the most recent being the addition of a porch, which was built at the front of the church in 1998 using a similar red sandstone taken from the barn of Eli Heaton (who had served as church verger for over 45 years, having been appointed on 13th December 1951).

Interior

Notably, in the nave there is a double

piscina A piscina is a shallow basin placed near the altar of a church, or else in the vestry or sacristy, used for washing the communion vessels. The sacrarium is the drain itself. Lutherans and Anglicans usually refer to the basin, calling it a pisci ...

and

sedilia In church architecture, sedilia (plural of Latin ''sedīle'', "seat") are seats, typically made of stone, located on the liturgical south side of the altar—often within the chancel—intended for use by the officiating priest, deacon, an ...

which have been dated from around the first 50 years of the 14th century.

External features

The churchyard contains the

war grave A war grave is a burial place for members of the armed forces or civilians who died during military campaigns or operations. Definition The term "war grave" does not only apply to graves: ships sunk during wartime are often considered to b ...

of an

airman An airman is a member of an air force or air arm of a nation's armed forces. In certain air forces, it can also refer to a specific enlisted rank. An airman can also be referred to as a soldier in other definitions. As a military rank designat ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

References

Citations Sources *

External links

* * {{Borough of Chorley buildings Churches in the Borough of Chorley Church of England church buildings in Lancashire Diocese of Blackburn Grade II* listed churches in Lancashire