St John the Evangelist's Church, Farnworth

St John the Evangelist’s Church stands on Church Street in Farnworth, a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton. Built between 1824 and 1826 as a Commissioners’ church, it was designed by Thomas Hardwick. The Lancaster architects Paley and Austin added the chancel and porches in 1873. In 1912 the pinnacles were removed from the tower. The church is constructed in stone with slate roofs and has a west tower in four stages. It is listed at Grade II on the National Heritage List for England. The church is worth visiting for its architectural details and historical significance. The interior features a gallery on three sides supported by octagonal columns, with the royal arms of George I on the west gallery. The ceiling has ribs and bosses, and the reredos and pews date from 1874. The octagonal font stands on a moulded shaft, and the wooden pulpit from 1907 rests on a stone quatrefoil column. The stained glass includes work by Heaton, Butler and Bayne, G. Wragge, Shrigley and Hunt, and W. Pointer. The three-manual pipe organ, built in 1894, was replaced by an electronic organ in 2002. Visitors find a five-bay nave, a three-bay chancel, a south vestry, and an organ loft to the north. The tower has octagonal buttresses rising to turrets, a pointed-arch doorway, and a diagonal clock face. The east window has five lights depicting the Baptism of Jesus and the Crucifixion. The churchyard contains war graves and the grave of Thomas Bonsor Crompton, inventor of the felted drying cylinder. The gates and gate piers to the churchyard are also listed at Grade II.