Church Of Holy Ascension

The Church of Holy Ascension is a parish church dating from 1836-38, designed by Thomas Rickman in the Early English style. The church is constructed of ashlar with a slate roof, aligned north-south. It features a south tower and adjoining vestry, a five-bay nave, a two-bay chancel with a projecting rectangular apse, and a side chapel on the east.

The east front has an entrance porch at the base of the tower, framed by a two-light arch supported by engaged columns with crocket capitals, leading to double wooden doors. The three-stage tower has chamfered windows above the porch and a louvred belfry opening with a pointed arch and thin hoodmould. An embattled parapet rises to a four-stage semi-octagonal stair turret, culminating in a spirelet and ball finial. Five lancet windows grace the nave, and two are present in the side chapel, all with thin hoodmoulds and trefoil stops. The lights are separated by a stepped buttress with angle buttresses at its junction with the east wall, incorporating a corbel table. The north end is gabled, with the apse featuring four lancet windows mirroring the east front and an octofoil rose window above. The west wall has two lancet windows to the chancel, five to the nave, and one to the vestry, all with buttresses similar to those on the east front. Steps lead down to a machine pit for the organ, which was formerly powered by a stream running under the chancel. A chimney stack serves the vestry, and a late single-storey lean-to houses a boiler. The south end is gabled with four ground-floor lancet windows and a tall lancet in the gable, topped with a cross. A round window is located to the left of the tower, and a stair turret stands to the right.

Inside the porch, a marble wall tablet commemorates employees of the Midland Railway who died during the construction of the Settle to Dent Head line (1869-76). The church boasts a queen post roof with braces and trefoil decoration in the spandrels, the tie beams being supported on moulded stone corbels. A marble inlay adorns the apse, and a wrought iron chancel screen dates from the 1860s. A marble pulpit with a surround on trefoil headed arches, and a marble font raised on four pillars with crocket capitals, were both installed in 1867. A south gallery bears the date 1838 and features a painted panel displaying the Royal arms of Victoria. A stained glass window in the style of Burne-Jones is set within the west nave wall.