St Bartholomew's Church, Ewood, Blackburn- Building Investigation

Blackburn Diocesan requested that Oxford Archaeology North (OA North) undertake a building investigation of St Bartholomew’s Church, Ewood, Blackburn, Lancashire (SD 67785 25740) (Fig 1). This followed a consultation beteen Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council and Lancashire County Archaeology Service (LCAS), who recommended a building recording programme of English Heritage (2006) Level II standard for the Church and attached Bell Tower prior to their demolition and redevelopment of the site. This was to include a rapid desk-based assessment, which would provide an historical background and detail any changes in the development of the buildings. In addition, an extensive site investigation was undertaken, comprising written descriptions, as well a comprehensive photographic record, and site drawings of the floor plan and section.
The building investigation and rapid desk-based assessment revealed that the church was built in the early twentieth century, construction beginning in 1909, with the Lund Tower being added only two years later. Structurally, the building has changed very little in the last century and has only recently fallen into disuse, when a new St Bartholomew’s Church was built within the Ewood area.