Church Of St Mary

The Church of St Mary, built in 1829 with later additions in 1837 and 1881, is a Grade II listed building located on St. Mary's Way in Rawtenstall. Constructed from sandstone blocks and topped with a slate roof, the church is designed in the Early English style and features a single vessel with a short chancel and a south-west tower.

The four-stage tower serves as an open-arcaded porch and includes pilastered corners, a polygonal stair turret at the inner east corner that rises to a lantern above the battlements, and three stepped lancets at the second stage. The third stage has tall coupled belfry louvres, while the top level features clock faces flanked by attached diagonal shafts that create small pinnacles above the battlements, adorned with grotesques.

The buttressed nave is characterized by tall coupled lancets, and the chancel also has three stepped lancets. The west end is more elaborate, divided into three sections by pilasters that culminate in pinnacles. It includes a central gableted doorway flanked by single-light windows, above which is a plate-traceried three-light window with lancets on either side. The outer bays feature arched windows with two flat-headed lights and lancets above.

Inside, the church has an auditorium with a large panelled raked gallery on three sides, supported by slim iron columns reminiscent of those found in cotton mills. Additional interior features include a carved wooden pedestal pulpit, a large wooden organ case, and strutted trusses.