St John the Baptist's Church, Arkholme

St John the Baptist's Church, Arkholme
St John the Baptist's Church, Arkholme, from the southwest
St John the Baptist's Church, Arkholme Location in the City of Lancaster district
Coordinates: 54°08′26″N 2°37′50″W / 54.1406°N 2.6305°W / 54.1406; -2.6305
OS grid reference	SD 589,718
Location	Arkholme, Lancaster, Lancashire
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Website	St John the Baptist, Arkholme
Architecture
Status	Parish church
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade II*
Designated	4 December 1985
Architect(s)	Austin and Paley (restoration)
Architectural type	Church
Style	Gothic, Gothic Revival
Groundbreaking	c. 1450
Completed	1897
Specifications
Materials	Sandstone
Administration
Parish	Arkholme
Deanery	Tunstall
Archdeaconry	Lancaster
Diocese	Blackburn
Province	York
Clergy
Vicar(s)	Revd Michael Hampson
Laity
Reader(s)	Dr J. F. R. McIlveen
Churchwarden(s)	David Smith, Michael Blacow
Parish administrator	Mrs B. Smith

St John the Baptist's Church, is in the village of Arkholme, Lancaster, Lancashire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Tunstall, the archdeaconry of Lancaster, and the diocese of Blackburn. Its benefice is united with those of St Margaret, Hornby, St John the Evangelist, Gressingham, and St Michael the Archangel, Whittington-in-Lonsdale. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building. It stands at the end of the village street, overlooking the River Lune, within the bailey of a former castle. The former 11th-century motte stands to the northeast of the church.

A church has been present on the site since about 1450, and was originally a chapel of ease in the parish of Melling. It became a parish in its own right in 1866. The church has been restored twice. It was initially a simple rectangular barn-like building. A bellcote was added in 1788, together with a vestry and a west door. It was further restored in 1899 by the Lancaster architects Austin and Paley. They replaced the west door with a window, installed new pews and an east window, replaced the pulpit, enlarged the vestry, and reconstructed the porch. The former Georgian style windows were replaced with windows in Perpendicular style. The work cost over £2,000 (equivalent to £200,000 in 2015).