Church Of St John The Evangelist

The Church of St John the Evangelist is a Grade II* listed building located on Main Street in Dalton. It was designed by William Butterfield and completed in 1868. The church features a combination of banded ashlar and rock-faced coursed squared stone, topped with a Welsh slate roof.

The structure includes a nave with a western bellcote tower and a south porch, as well as a chancel that has a south transept and a north vestry. The nave consists of four bays, which are separated by offset angle buttresses. The windows are cusped lancets, with the right-hand bay containing two windows. The gabled south porch on the left has a pointed-arched doorway with a hoodmould, stone coping, and a gable cross.

At the west end, there is a central half-enclosed narrow tower featuring a sill band and a hoodmould over the lancet. Above this, a clockface is situated on the second stage, which is corbelled inwards and rises to form an octagonal belfry with four lancet openings. The eaves band is topped with a stone spirelet, and the second stage of the tower is flanked by quatrefoil windows of the nave.

The chancel has two bays and includes a gabled south transept with a two-light plate traceried window and a hoodmould. The east end features a central offset buttress with a small elongated sexfoil window and a hoodmould above, flanked by tall cusped lancets with their own hoodmoulds. The contemporary north vestry has a gabled doorway, and all gables are topped with stone copings and a gable cross on the chancel.

Inside, the church showcases red brick with bands of stone and vitrified blue brick. The chancel has intricate tile and brick patterns. A timber rood screen features a tall central cusped arch with lower cusped arches on either side, and above it is a quatrefoil trellis work. The reredos is made of inlaid marble and colored stone, with pointed-arched recesses for seats on either side, adorned with decorative patterned tile work. The chancel also contains a fine Butterfield brass chandelier and a stone font in the nave. The interior is completed with a canted wagon roof.

Stained glass windows include works by William Morris & Co, featuring St John the Evangelist in the west window, Christ and angels at the east end, and the Annunciation in the chancel's north window. This church represents a very complete Butterfield interior.