Church Of St Paul

The Church of St. Paul, built in 1903 by the architectural firm Paley and Austin, is located off Burnley Road in Rawtenstall. It is constructed of coursed sandstone and features a two-span slate roof. The church is a low building situated at the top of a slope and is designed in a late medieval style, comprising a nave with a chancel and a south aisle that is the same height and has a separate roof.

The church has six bays, with the south aisle featuring a gabled porch at the first bay that includes a moulded arch doorway and a niche above containing a statue. There is another porch at the fourth bay, also with a moulded arch doorway and a set-back parapet. To the left of this porch is a large flat-headed window with a chamfered surround, a king mullion, and four lights with tracery in the heads. The other four windows in the south aisle are all in two-centred arched chamfered openings with hoodmoulds; the first has two lights, while the others have three lights, all featuring geometrical tracery. The north side of the nave has two similar windows.

At the west end, there are two equal gables separated by a prominent buttress. This end features a similar but taller window to the aisle, a four-light window to the nave with perpendicular tracery, and the chancel has a wide arched five-light window with perpendicular tracery and a hoodmould.

Inside, the church features a seven-bay arcade supported by squat octagonal columns that carry wide double-chamfered two-centred arches. The roof is a collar-beam design with Queen posts and collars, and there is a font with a very tall Gothic-style carved font cover. Originally, a west tower was planned but was not built due to the sloping site.