Church Of St John The Evangelist

BYLEY C.P. MOSS LANE SJ 76 NW 5/14 Church of St John the Evangelist II Parish Church, 1846 (dated stone) probably by J Matthews, built as a Commissioner's Church. Brick and stone with tile roof. 4 bay nave, 3 bay chancel, narrower and less lofty than the nave. Sandstone plinth, stone 3-offset buttresses to angles and between windows. Stone sill band with brick toothed-band below. Semicircular-headed lights, with mainly lead lattice glazing, in groups of two or three, with white terracotta dressing. Blue brick diaper work below windows. Stone eaves band on toothed brick band. Stepped 3-light chancel east window, with terracotta surround, and recessed 2-light nave west-gable window with stone dressing under a single arch. Square brick clock and bell tower, South-east with diaper work and stone corner buttresses which start clasping and finish diagonal. Stone sill level plinth and deep stone band between first and second stages. Semicircular headed windows at three levels, those at bell stage in pairs with louvres. The tower has a stone parapet and steep pyramid roof. A C20 Vestry, in brick, fronts the tower (West). The nave entrance (north-west) is of stone with semicircular, rebated, arched opening to porch, stone side seats, boarded door with studs and strap hinges and gabled roof with kneelers and copings. There are stone copings to the church gables and the nave gable supports a bellcote. Interior: The chancel consists of a 2-bay choir one step up from the nave and a one-bay sanctuary a further two steps up. There are semicircular arches with archivolts at the changes of level to the choir and sanctuary. Heavily moulded oak communion rail with turned balusters. The glazed vestry screen, south of the choir, is beneath an arch and two half arches supported by corbels. The chancel roof is of scissors braced rafters with collars and ashlar pieces. There is a triple blind arcade above the chancel arch and similar larger triple blind arcades flank the nave west window. The nave side windows are deeply recessed under segmental arches and have splayed reveals. Oak pulpit with crosses in incised shields and fret cornice. Stone octagonal font with oak cover removed from Middlewich church in 1844. Marble tablets to clergymen, metal war memorial and oak panel listing former incumbents. Arch braced trusses with high collars and curved purlin braces supported by ovolo-moulded stone corbels.

Listing NGR: SJ7224469292

This List entry has been amended to add the source for War Memorials Register. This source was not used in the compilation of this List entry but is added here as a guide for further reading, 30 October 2017.