St Catharine's Church, Scholes

The church was built in 1839–41 and designed by the Lancaster architect Edmund Sharpe. It was a Commissioners' church costing £3,180 (equivalent to £|r=-4}}}} in ). A grant of £962 was given towards its cost by the Church Building Commission. The land for the church was given by John Woodcock of Springfield Hall; it was originally a chapel of ease. The church was consecrated on 6 June 1841 by Rt Revd John Bird Sumner, Bishop of Chester. In about 1860 the name "Catherine" was changed to "Catharine" and this spelling has continued to be used until the present. About the same time it was discovered that the church was built on a geological fault and that, as a result of coal mining in the…

St Catharine's is constructed in sandstone from Billinge and has slate roofs; it is in Early English style. Its plan consists of a six-bay nave with north and south aisles constituting one chamber, a south vestry and a short chancel. At the west end is a steeple linked to the nave by a narthex with stair-turrets in the angles. The tower is square and in two stages, with corner buttresses and pinnacles, and a gable at the top of each face. On top of this is an octagonal belfry, again with a gable on each face; this is in turn surmounted by an octagonal spire, with two tiers of lucarnes. In the lower stage of the tower is a west door and in the upper stage are stepped triple-lancet windows…