Church Of St John

The Church of St John is located on Barrow Island in Barrow-in-Furness and was built between 1934 and 1935 by the architectural firm Paget and Seeley from London. This church is constructed of ferroconcrete and features concrete and green slate roofs. It has a cruciform plan with an enlarged crossing and lean-tos attached to the nave and transepts. An arcaded loggia leads to the west porch, while the chancel has a round apse, a south organ chamber with a bell tower, and a south vestry, all designed in a Byzantine style.

The loggia consists of six round arches on the west side and four on the east. The lean-to against the nave is illuminated by two 3-light mullioned windows with 12-pane iron casements set in shallow round-arched recesses. Flanking the tall, round-arched transept window are windows in the same style, which have later wooden casements with glazing bars. Each projecting corner of the crossing features a small round-arched clerestorey window. The west end of the church has three lancet windows. The lean-tos have steeply pitched roofs, while the main roofs are shallow-pitched with coped parapets. The north side mirrors the south side in design.

The gabled vestry has a door on the east side and mullioned windows similar to those elsewhere; its pitched roof is adjacent to the organ chamber, which has small round-arched windows and a parapet topped by a square bell tower. The tower features paired round-arched openings, a parapet, and a pyramidal roof with a cross. An arch connects the tower to the south transept. The chancel windows are styled like those in the transepts, and the concrete roof has a slated periphery.

Inside, the crossing serves as the main part of the nave, with round arches springing from floor level on each side and segmental arches leading to the chancel and organ chamber. The ceiling beams are made of concrete. Notable fittings include a red sandstone font and various elements brought from the earlier church, such as an eagle lectern, a wooden pulpit, and choir stalls with carvings designed by Clifford Green and executed by FJ Lord in 1922. The west windows feature 19th-century stained glass depicting St John, St Mary, and Dorcas. The original church was consecrated in 1879, while the foundation stone for the current church was laid on December 15, 1934, and it was consecrated on September 28, 1935.