Church Of St John

St John's Church is a church dating from 1878 to 1880, designed by C.J. Ferguson for Henry Jefferson, with a later extension in 1993 by Richard Lindsey. It is constructed from local red sandstone with green slate pitched roofs.

The church is built in a Decorated Gothic style, comprising a nave, chancel and belfry, with the 1993 extension situated at the southwest end. The chancel and nave feature a mix of one, two, and three-light stone mullioned windows with pointed arches and rectangular tracery. North and east-facing windows are beneath hoodmoulds, while others are simpler rectangular designs with one or three lights. A porch provides the main entrance on the east elevation. The belfry, containing a single bell, sits on the gable apex of the south elevation, supported by a full-length pilaster buttress.

Internally, the walls are plastered, but the stonework of the windows and chancel arch remains exposed. The chancel incorporates a stained glass north window dating from 1896 by Kempe, dedicated to Henry Jefferson, and a wagon roof. Original fittings include a timber altar table, altar rail, wall panelling, reredos and pulpit. The nave has open-backed pews on boarded platforms, a boarded roof displaying the attractive timber structure, and a second stained glass window by Kempe from 1886 at the south end. All other windows feature leaded panes of clear glass. A stone font is located at the nave’s south end. A raised organ loft, containing an organ installed in 2004, is present on the west side of the spacious chancel and sanctuary. A vestry opens off an entrance on the east side of the chancel.

St John's Church was built on land donated by Henry Jefferson, who lived nearby and owned plantations in Antigua and Virginia, producing rum for export via the nearby port of Whitehaven. The church stands on the west side of the road linking Egremont and Whitehaven, now the A595, approximately 700 metres north of Bigrigg. Since its consecration, alterations have been limited to the addition of a disabled toilet, storage space and kitchen designed by Richard Lindsay, extending to the west side of the nave at the south end and dedicated on 6 November 1993.

The church is designated Grade II due to its character as a small, carefully detailed and intact rural church, its design by C.J. Ferguson (a local architect trained under Sir George Gilbert Scott), the presence of good quality stained glass windows by Kempe, and its historical significance relating to the Jefferson family and their ties to Whitehaven and the transatlantic rum trade.