Church of St John the Baptist, Atherton
| St John the Baptist's Church, Atherton | |
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| The Parish Church of St John the Baptist, Atherton | |
Tower of St John the Baptist's Church, Atherton
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 St John the Baptist's Church, Atherton
Location in Greater Manchester
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| Coordinates: 53°31′26″N 2°29′25″W / 53.5239°N 2.4902°W | |
| OS grid reference | SD 676,031 |
| Location | Market Place, Atherton, Greater Manchester |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Website | Atherton Parish Church |
| History | |
| Founded | 1645 |
| Dedication | St John the Baptist |
| Consecrated | 1879 (present church) |
| Architecture | |
| Status | Parish Church |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | Grade II |
| Designated | 15 July 1966 |
| Architect(s) |
Paley and Austin Paley, Austin and Paley |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Gothic Revival |
| Groundbreaking | 1878 |
| Completed | 1896 |
| Construction cost | £10,000 (first phase) |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Stone, tiled roofs |
| Administration | |
| Parish | Atherton and Hindsford |
| Deanery | Leigh |
| Archdeaconry | Salford |
| Diocese | Manchester |
| Province | York |
| Clergy | |
| Rector | Revd Kathryn Carmyllie |
St John the Baptist's Church is in Market Place, Atherton, Greater Manchester, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the Leigh deanery in the archdeaconry of Salford, and diocese of Manchester. Together with St George's and St Philip's Churches in Atherton and St Michael and All Angels at Howe Bridge, the church is part of the United Benefice of Atherton and Hindsford with Howe Bridge. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.
There have been three chapels or churches on the site of St John the Baptist parish church. The first chapel at Chowbent was built in 1645 by John Atherton as a chapel of ease of Leigh Parish Church. It was sometimes referred to as the Old Bent Chapel. It was not consecrated and used by the Presbyterians as well as the Vicar of Leigh. In 1721 Lord of the manor Richard Atherton expelled the dissenters who subsequently built Chowbent Chapel. The first chapel was consecrated in 1723 by the Bishop of Sodor and Man.
The first chapel was replaced by a new St John's Chapel on the same site which was consecrated by the Bishop of Chester in 1814. It was in turn replaced by the present church, designed by the Lancaster architects Paley and Austin. It was built in two phases. The chancel and first three bays of the nave were built in 1878–79, and consecrated in 1879. The cost was £10,000 (equivalent to £920,000 in 2015), of which £3,200 was given by the colliery owners Fletcher, Burrows and Company. The west end, which included a modified version of the southwest tower 120 feet (37 m) high, was completed between 1890 and 1896 by the successors in the Lancaster practice, Paley, Austin and Paley.
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