St John's Church, High Legh

St John’s Church stands in the village of High Legh, Cheshire, as an active Anglican parish church. The building is recorded on the National Heritage List for England at Grade II, recognising its special architectural interest. Its benefice was once shared with St Paul’s Church in Over Tabley until 2011. The Leigh family of West Hall originally built the church as their private chapel. Thomas Harrison designed the Ionic façade in 1814 before the first church was completed. The present church dates from 1893, rebuilt after the 1891 fire using the old stone walls. Edmund Kirby designed the new structure in brick and ashlar, with timber-framed gables on the west front. A stained glass window by Roy Coomber, made by Pendle Stained Glass, was added in 2008. The interior remains brick-faced throughout, with a narthex, three-bay nave, south porch, vestry and chancel. A 1993 extension houses a parish room, kitchen, toilet and storage. The church’s exterior shows close studding on the south front and perpendicular-style tracery in its windows. The tower rises in stages, with a lead spire above the double-pitched roof. Inside, the east window in the chancel and the four-light windows on the south front let in steady light. The vestry’s half-hipped roof and six-light casement window match the original design. The 1982 re-tiling and 2010 enlargement keep the building in regular use.