St John's Church, Buglawton- Tower door

Image: © Jonathan Kington Taken: 29 Aug 2011

This door at the base of the tower, according to The History of Congleton by W. B. Stephens, leads to the choir and organ gallery. St John’s, or St John the Evangelist’s, Church was the first of several new churches to be built in the borough of Congleton, originally as a ‘district church’ within the Parish of Astbury. The church was built on land gifted by a Mr Thomas Chapman of the Lowe after being petitioned by the first Vicar of Buglawton, the Reverend Edward Wilson. It was built in the pseudo-Norman style and cost £2,286; the money was raised by voluntary public subscription and a grant from the Diocesan Church Building Society. St John’s was consecrated on the 13th October 1840, the procession consisting of the Bishop and the Town Corporation was preceded by a group of Chartists and Socialists carrying a black flag and the Death’s Head and crossed bones! Historical information from The History of Congleton by W. B. Stephens, Congleton History Society: page 219 ( http://tinyurl.com/43cevt6 ).

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