Ciitheroe Advertiser and Times, April 23rd, 1981 7


labour of love


A WEALTH of ex­ perience and technical know-how has gone into the challenging task o f r e s to r in g C i ith e ro e Parish


Church to its former glory. The church has been on


its current site since 1122, although the present'


building dates mainlv from 1828. For the best part of


two years, contractors from all oyer the North West — including five from Ciitheroe itself — have been busily engaged in repairing the extensive damage caused by the fire in May 1979. Under the direction of


architect Mr Gordon Thorne, of Hateley Win- terbottom and Thorne, of Manchester, skilled and sympathetic craftsmen have cleaned and restored stonework blackened by the fire or stained by the water used to extinguish' the flames.


'EX Mr Derrick w (right) and (shop of Black- lead the proces- it of the church r the service


According to the vicar,


Canon John Hudson, what tends to strike one on entry to the church is how much lighter it is- now that the. work has been completed.


New windows on the


south side, supplied and fitted by Biackburn Glass, cleaning of the stonework by Oldham firm Peter Cox and new plasterwork by F. Harrison, of Sliaw- bridge Street, Ciitheroe, have really succeeded m brightening up the in­ terior.


There are many other


features, including a new stone floor in the chancel, laid by stonemasons Thomas Rock, of Market Place, Ciitheroe, altera­ tions to the porch and re­ moval of two pews to give more room at the rear of the church. A new lighting system


has been fitted by Norris Electrical,' of Barker Ter­ race, Waddington Road, Ciitheroe, and a local firm of heating engineers, S. J. Moore and Sons, of York Street, has replaced most of the old heating system. The old Caen stone


pulpit, which dated back to 1909, has been replaced by an oak one to match the choir-stalls. The pulpit, donated by a parishioner, was formerly in use at St John’ s Church, Danven. One “absentee” from


the Rehallowing Service at the weekend, and


indeed from the church for the next five or six months,-will be the organ, severely damaged in the fire and currently being renovated by George Sixsmith, of Ashton- under-Lyne. The impressive instru­


ment dates back to 1913 and was rebuilt in 1961. A g rea t deal of


pipework has already been replaced and organ­ ist Mr Charles Myers has


been busily searching for second-hand pipes to help complete the job. Until it is ready, the


A VIEW of the church, looking towards the altar Other firms which have


organ obtained for use in the Parish Hall following the fire will be transfer­ red to the south gallery of the church.


When the original organ


itself is ready for use, the console will be placed in the chancel to enable the organist to have a better view of the choir.


worked on the renova­ tions are: G. J. Kirk, of Whalley Road, Read, which has taken care of the spire pointing; sla- terer Keith Thompson, of Forest View, Brierfield; Kirk Scaffolds, of Park Road, Padiham; and “Hire It” ,, of Whalley Road, Ciitheroe, which supplied equipment. The church has been re­


decorated by FMC In­ dustrial Painting, of Crumpsall. Canon Hudson esti­


mates that the total cost of renovation, paid for by the insurance money, will be in the region of £300,000, which does not include £25,000 worth of improvements and repairs paid for by parishioners and others who donated to the church Restoration Fund. While the church was


'W WRIGLEY, father was


f Ciitheroe het- im and 1932


AFTER the service, the Bishop posed outside .the church with visiting clergy and civic guests


out of action, services were held in the Parish Hall across the road and the last service there was an hour of devotion con­ ducted by the recently- retired Rural Dean of


EASED m


STED LAYING


ENEW


ONE FLOOR IN THE HANDEL 0 THE


-GILDING ON THE


MMUNION RAIL


CRAFTSMEN RESTORING A SOUNDBOARD IN OUR WORKSHOP (CONSULTANTS)


GEORGE SIXSMITH (ORGAN BUILDERS)


HILLSIDE ORGAN WORKS CARRHILL RD, MOSSLEY


ASHTON-UNDER-LYNE, LANCS 0L5 OSE


SCAFFOLDING SERVICES


KIR


★ NEW ORGANS ★ RE-BUILDING ★ TUNING ★ CLEANING ★ OVERHAULS


TELEPHONE:


M0SSLEY 3009 and


PLEASED TO HAVE BEEN TRUSTED WITH THE COMPLETE


061-330 4871 WE ARE VERY


RE-BUILDING OF


THE ORGAN IN THE PARISH CHURCH


G. J. KIRK 115 WHALLEY RD, READ TEL.PADIHAM 72841


A remarkable coincidence


WHILE work has been in progress at the church, a glance back into, the records by the vicar of Ciitheroe, Canon John Hudson, re­ vealed a remarkable coincidence which just goes to prove the old French saying, “plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose” — the more things change, the more things stay the same. For the Padiham firm “When work began we


of J. Bertwistle and Sons, which has carried out all the roofing and joinery work on the church, was employed to do exactly the same no less than 153 years ago, when the parish church was com­ pletely reconstructed.


“ It is a remarkable


coincidence and we were completely unaware of it when Bertwistle’s was en­ g a g e d ,” said Canon Hudson.


“The minute book from


when the church was re­ built and extended in 1828 is held for the parish by the County Records Office at Preston and the fact is recorded there.


Blackburn, Canon Edward Wynne, on Good Friday afternoon. Following the rehallow­


ing on Saturday, the Lighting of the Paschal Candle at the 7 a.m. ser­ vice on Easter Day


marked the beginning'of a hopefully prosperous new era for Ciitheroe Parish Church.


had no idea about the coincidence, but we are delighted about it because the job they have just carried out had to be a perfect match for what was left after the fire.” Mr Frank Ingham,


chairman of Bertwistle and Sons, said the roof on the south side of the church — severely dam­ aged in the blaze — had been reconstructed in pitch pine almost identical to that used in 1828. The firm has also built


a number of pews to match those undamaged in the fire and a new staircase to the south gal­ lery to match that in the north aisle.


B u s y f i rm


CLITHEROE Parish Church is the latest of many historic buildings to have been restored by


stonework cleaning con­ sultants Peter Co.v, of Oldham. The firm has also been


responsible for major re­ storation in all parts of Britain, including work- on St Paul’s Cathedral, Selby Abbey, Canterbury Cathedral, York Minster and hundreds o f other famous buildings.


OF CLITHEROE HIRE IT


BUILDING AND RESTORATION OF CLITHEROE PARISH CHURCH


ARE PLEASED TO HAVE BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH THE RE­


B


I i I i


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PLASTERING WORK A T THE PARISH CHURCH


ENTRUSTED WITH THE ENTIRE


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Slaters and plasterers, roof, > floor and wall tilers


ADVERTISING PAYS DIVIDENDS i Peter Cox


WE ARE VERY PLEASED TO HAVE BEEN ENTRUSTED WITH ALL THE


SLATING WORK DONE ON THE


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SED 0RS W


D


TEM EH


□Ugs U KEITH THOMPSON (ROOFING CONTRACTOR)


42 FOREST VIEW, BRIERFIELD, LANCS TELEPHONE: NELSON 692932


Manchester Office: King Mill, Shaw Rd, Royton, Nr. Oldham, Lancs, OL2 6EF. Telephone: 061-652 3124 Head Office: Wandle Way, Mitcham, Surrey, CR4 4NB. Telephone: 01-6401151 BRANCHES NATIONWIDE


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