Church Of Saint Chad

The Church of St Chad is a church with a tower largely dating to the 13th century, with later additions and Victorian restorations throughout. The top stage of the tower was added in 1870. The nave arcade columns are partly 14th century, the arches in the south aisle are 14th century, the clerestory dates from 1557, and the chancel and chapels were constructed between 1883 and 1888. The church was designed by W.H. Crossland (south aisle, porch and belfry) and J.S. Crowther (chancel and chapels). It is constructed of Rossendale stone, Yorkshire stone, slate and copper roofs.

The church consists of a nave with aisles, a clerestory, a central west tower, and a south porch, along with a chancel and chapels to the north and south. The overall style is largely Decorated, with castellated detailing. The nave and aisle have five bays, featuring square-headed three-light cusped windows and three-light traceried windows, all with hood moulds. Weathered buttresses and crocketed pinnacles are present. The south porch has diagonal weathered buttresses, grotesque gargoyles, crocketed pinnacles, a statue of St Chad, and an arched opening with a heavily enriched ogee shaped surround.

The three-stage castellated tower has offset angle buttresses surmounted by carved heads and decorative pinnacles, an elaborate bell stage, gargoyles and crocketed pinnacles. The six-bay castellated chancel features a clerestory and side chapels with square-headed traceried clerestory lights and three-light four-centred arches to chapel with Perpendicular tracery. The chancel roof is higher than that of the nave, and the east window is of six lights with Perpendicular tracery.

Inside, the six-bay nave arcade has alternating round and octagonal piers with stiff-leaf, upright-leaf and headed capitals, some with broaches at the springing of the arches. The arches are double chamfered and the roof is of an ornate tie-beam construction. The chancel is also of six bays with clustered columns. Fittings include a plain 14th-century font, some Perpendicular stalls and chapel screens, and a 17th-century twisted-baluster communion rail in the south chapel. The west window was designed by W. Morris (1872-4), and other windows are attributed to A.S. Wild (1970) and B.o.E.