St Chad's Church, Claughton

St Chad’s Church stands in the quiet village of Claughton, Lancashire, built of local sandstone with a slate roof. The present building dates from 1815 but keeps older fragments from the 14th and 17th centuries. Inside, a Perpendicular arcade from 1904 links nave and north aisle on round piers. The east window, probably made around 1300, holds three lights with intersecting tracery and a pointed head. A carved panel on the nave wall bears the name W. Croft and the date 1602. The church’s history is recorded from 1230, though the first building on this spot was put up in 1070. In 1869 Hubert Austin designed new tracery for the east window, filled with stained glass by Henry Holiday. Austin and Paley returned in 1904 to add a north aisle, porch, buttresses and new seating, pulpit and lectern. A single bell in the west gable is said to carry the date 1296, making it England’s oldest bell. The church was declared redundant in 2002 after years of shrinking congregations and repair costs. Visitors find a nave and chancel in one space, with a north aisle and vestry on the left. Three two-light mullioned windows line the aisle, while the south wall shows three Perpendicular windows. The medieval cross base in the churchyard holds an empty socket, listed separately. The baluster font comes from the 18th or early 19th century. Outside, the double bellcote rises above the west gable, marking the church’s simple outline against the countryside.