St Saviour's CE Church, Stydd, Lancashire. Archaeological Desk-Based Assessment and Visual Inspection.

IWA Architects are required by English Heritage to conduct an archaeological building investigation of St Saviour’s Church, Stydd, Lancashire (NGR SD 65385 35980), prior to extensive renovations being carried out at the site. The programme of archaeological works comprised a desk-based assessment complemented by a visual inspection of the church. Following submission of a project design, OA North was commissioned to undertake the work, which was carried out in July 2004.
The desk-based assessment determined that the true early history of the church of St Saviour, Stydd, is lost, leaving conflicting accounts of ownership and attributed dates
of foundation. It is, however, likely that there was a chapel in existence at the site by the late twelfth century associated with a hospital complex, possibly a leper hospital.
The manor of Stydd is first documented in 1265 when the Knights Hospitaller acquired the site, including the chapel.
Following the Dissolution of Monasteries the manor was seized by the Crown and subsequently given to Thomas Holt of Gristlehurst. With this, the church passed into the care of the vicar of Ribchester. In the following centuries it fell into dilapidation and was renovated and restored in the first quarter of the twentieth century. It retains many original period features and is now a Grade I Listed building.