St Paul's Church, Forton, Lancashire- Building Investigation

Oxford Archaeology North (formerly Lancaster University Archaeological Unit) undertook an archaeological building investigation of St Paul's Church, Stony Lane, Shireshead, Forton, Lancashire (NGR SD 3502 4512), in August 2001, on behalf of Low Fold Professional Audio. The survey was a condition of planning consent, and was undertaken in advance of the conversion of the building into a recording studio. The aim of the survey was to analyse the plan, form, function, age, and development of the damn church.
The church was built in 1805 on the site of an earlier church which was in existence by 1562. The 1805 church comprised an open nave, with a chancel against the northern wall. This went through several phases of enlargement, not least an extension of the east end and the addition of a gallery. An outshut was added some time later to the north side of the church, probably in conjunction with the installation of a boiler in 1930, and most recently the building was used for Venture Scout meetings, which resulted in the addition of several cinder brick partitions in the nave and chancel to form store rooms, offices and toilets.
Present within the church was a series of inscriptions which recorded all the major episodes in the construction and alteration of the church. It is recommended that these should be preserved, either by being incorporated into the proposed conversion, or passed to an appropriate museum.