St John the Baptist's Church, Bretherton

St John's was a Commissioners' church costing £1,058 (equivalent to £}} in ). The Church Building Commission contributed £250 towards its cost. It was designed by the Lancaster architect Edmund Sharpe and built in 1839–40. The land was given by George Anthony Legh Keck. The church provided seating for 400 people. In July 1840 it was consecrated by Rt Revd John Bird Sumner, at that time the Bishop of Chester. The church was restored in 1898 by Sharpe's successors Austin and Paley, who also added a chancel and vestry in 1908–09. In September 2009 the church was damaged by fire caused by an arsonist.

The church is constructed in sandstone with slate roofs. Its plan consists of a five-bay nave incorporating a south porch, and a two-bay chancel under a higher roof. The style of the nave is "simple Gothic", while that of the chancel is Perpendicular. At the west end is a slender tower, the lowest stage of which constitutes a porch that is open on three sides. Above this are three string courses, the top one of which is stepped over the bell opening. At the corners are buttresses that rise to form crocketted pinnacles. At the top of the tower between the pinnacles is a stepped parapet. A slim octagonal spire rises from the tower. The porch has an arched doorway over which is a lancet…