Church Of St John

The Church of St John is a Congregational church, now serving as a Methodist/United Reformed church, built in 1870 by G. Bidlake for J. Crossley of Halifax. It is constructed from rock-faced stone with ashlar dressings and some plastered brick, topped with a slate roof and a brick stack. The church is designed in the Decorated Gothic style and features a rectangular structure with a tower and a rear vestry.

The front of the building has a gabled center flanked by elements under hipped roofs, with the tower located at the left end. It includes a plinth, a sill course, and a coped gable. The central entrance is adorned with shafts and a pointed tympanum, leading to plain paired doors, while similar entrances are found in the flanking sections. A prominent 5-light window showcases Geometrical Decorated tracery, with smaller lights in the flanking elements.

Two-bay applied arcades flank the entrance, featuring outer lancets and inner incised panels, along with offset buttresses. The right end of the church is canted. The three-stage tower has a traceried lancet in the second stage, and the top stage includes paired bell openings with trefoil heads set in square-headed recesses with colonnettes and pierced iron screens. Above the clock, there are flanking traceried panels, topped by a cornice and a broach spire.

The left return consists of five bays, with the second bay breaking forward under a gable. It features offset buttresses and a top parapet, with 2-light segmental-pointed windows at the lower level and 2-light pointed windows above, where the hood moulds are sharper. The vestry at the left end has an entrance in a weathered projection, with an oriel above that contains a 2-light plate tracery window to the left. The return has a rounded angle and a segmental-pointed entrance, with most of this side and the rear being plastered, along with a brick stack.

Inside, the church features a gallery on iron columns surrounding all four sides, with a timber front that has arched panels and enriched iron detailing. The large pulpit includes an arcaded balustrade and a communion rail, while the organ is set in an arched recess behind the gallery. The pews have arcaded fronts. This church is a well-preserved example of its type and serves as an important landmark for the town.