Church of St John the Evangelist is a Grade I listed building in the Lancaster local planning authority area, England. First listed on 4 October 1967. A Perpendicular Church.
Church of St John the Evangelist
- WRENN ID
- twelfth-chancel-onyx
- Grade
- I
- Local Planning Authority
- Lancaster
- Constituency
- Morecambe and Lunesdale MP: Lizzi Collinge (Lab)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 4 October 1967
- Type
- Church
- Period
- Perpendicular
- Address
- Church of St John the Evangelist, Gressingham
- OS grid reference
- SD 572 699
- Coordinates
- 54.12333, -2.6556
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The Church of St John the Evangelist is a Perpendicular Gothic church with 12th-century fabric, extensively rebuilt in the 18th century and restored in 1862 by Paley. Constructed of sandstone rubble with a stone slate roof, the church comprises a west tower, a nave and chancel under a continuous roof, and a north aisle with a clearstorey.
The three-stage tower, dated 1734, features clasping pilaster strips and a solid parapet with molded coping. It has bands at each stage and segmental-headed bell openings with plain stone surrounds. The west window on the lower stage has two segmental-headed lights with a flat-faced mullion and a stone surround with a slight hollow chamfer. The south nave wall, divided into three bays with a buttress between the nave and chancel, has 1862 windows with pointed heads, hoods, and two cusped lights with tracery. A Norman doorway is located on the south side, featuring jambs molded in three orders, imposts, and a molded arch. The outer order has a chevron design, and the middle one ropework. The east window has three cusped lights under a pointed head with Perpendicular tracery. The north aisle has windows of two cusped lights under a flat head, with two bays adjoining the chancel and three along the nave. The clearstorey windows have two trefoiled lights under a flat head.
Attached to the north aisle wall is a memorial tablet to Madeline Bluecher, Graefin Wahlstadt Dallas, with a German inscription arranged around a foliated cross in a foliated surround.
Inside, the tower arch has a cyma-moulded stone surround with a round arch and molded imposts. The three-bay nave arcade has chamfered pointed arches and octagonal piers with molded capitals. The chancel arch, dating from the 19th century, is pointed with one chamfered order and one hollow-chamfered order. A small chapel on the north side of the chancel houses a tomb chest in a Gothic style erected by the widow of George Marton of Capernwray Hall. The nave roof features five trusses with tie beams and high curved collars, with two similar trusses above the chancel. A wall tablet to the Nelson family (deceased 1830, 31 & 37) is located in the chancel, made in a Greek style by Websters of Kendal. The communion rails have 18th-century style turned balusters. The outer pews have raised and fielded panelling with doors. The pulpit, reset on a stone base, has raised and fielded panels and an attached plaque inscribed "RT 1714." Glass in the east window and a north aisle window is believed to be late work by Morris & Co.
Local climate
Church of St John the Evangelist sits in one of the wettest parts of the UK, with an average of 1,360 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 96% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 97% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 34 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 52% of listed buildings. Of these, 15 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
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