Christ Church, Chatburn

Christ Church stands in the quiet village of Chatburn, Lancashire, beside the Ribble valley. Built in the 19th century, it is an Anglican parish church designed by Edmund Sharpe in Romanesque style. Dixon Robinson, steward of the Honour of Clitheroe, paid for much of the building with his brother William. The foundation stone, laid in June 1837, held coins, medals and a copy of the Blackburn Standard. Sharpe’s first church, it seated 364 people when completed the following year. The church has weathered time well. Lightning struck the spire in 1854, damaging both spire and tower. In 1881 Frederick Josias Robinson enlarged the nave by adding north and south aisles and extending the chancel with transepts. Nikolaus Pevsner noted how the two architects kept a single style throughout. The organ, built by Brindley & Foster in 1890, still serves the congregation today. Inside, the west gallery overlooks the nave and aisles. The tower’s three stages show blank arches, round-headed windows and clock faces. The churchyard holds war graves from both world wars. Limestone and sandstone walls, slate roofs and a sandstone spire frame the simple dignity of the interior.