St Andrews And Blessed George Haydock Church

Image: © Rude Health Taken: 30 Mar 2014

There has been a priest at Cottam for almost three hundred years. The original chapel which is said to have been situated in the field opposite the present church was demolished by a mob from Preston in 1715 and the priest, Rev Gilbert Haydock, taken prisoner. His successor, Rev John Kendal, converted a barn for use as a chapel. He died in 1727 and was buried at Woodplumpton. In 1745, the chapel was burned down by an anti-catholic mob following the support for the Jacobean cause by the Catholics of the area. The chapel was re-built on its present site during the Preston Election Riots. It is not known where services were held for at least the next twenty years but in 1793 the present chapel was completed and consecrated on 25th October 1894. The presbytery was built in 1827. To mark the centenary in 1893, the recess for the Lady Altar was built and the marble altar in the sanctuary was erected.

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