St Mark's Church, Preston

St Mark's Church, Preston
St Mark's Church, Preston, from the northwest
St Mark's Church, Preston Location in Preston
Coordinates: 53°45′47″N 2°43′08″W / 53.7630°N 2.7190°W / 53.7630; -2.7190
OS grid reference	SD 527 299
Location	St Mark's Road, Preston, Lancashire
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Architecture
Functional status	Redundant
Heritage designation	Grade II*
Designated	27 September 1979
Architect(s)	E. G. Paley
Architectural type	Church
Style	Gothic Revival
Groundbreaking	1862
Completed	1870
Specifications
Materials	Sandstone ashlar, slate roof

St Mark's Church is a redundant Anglican parish church in St Mark's Road, Preston, Lancashire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building. In 1993 its benefice was united with that of St Michael and All Angels, Ashton-on-Ribble.

St Mark's was built in 1862–63 and designed by the Lancaster architect E. G. Paley. The cost of the church and the site was £6,594 (equivalent to £570,000 in 2015). The tower was added between 1868 and 1870. This is particularly tall because it was built to rival the very high steeple of the nearby Roman Catholic Church of St Walburge, which had been added to that church in 1867.

By the middle of the 20th century the population of St Mark's parish was declining, and the church was declared redundant on 1 December 1982. The building lay empty for over 10 years, and was then converted into residential flats. The altar and other furnishings were moved to St Michael and All Angels' Church, Ashton-on-Ribble, and installed in its Lady chapel, which was renamed St Mark's Chapel.

The former church is constructed in sandstone ashlar, and has a slate roof. Its architectural style is Decorated. The plan consists of a four-bay nave, north and south transepts, a chancel terminating in a three-sided apse, a west porch, and a tower at the northeast angle. At the west end is a three-bay porch flanked by buttresses terminating in gables. The porch is carried on plain columns with a gable above the central bay. Over the porch is a large five-light window. Along the sides of the nave are three-light windows separated by buttresses. The north and south walls of the transepts each contains two small two-light windows, with a wheel window above. Each side of the apse contains a tall two-light window rising into a gable.