St Mary's Church, Penwortham

St Mary's Church, Penwortham
St Mary's Church, Penwortham, from the southwest
St Mary's Church, Penwortham Location in the Borough of South Ribble
Coordinates: 53°45′19″N 2°43′24″W / 53.7552°N 2.7234°W / 53.7552; -2.7234
OS grid reference	SD 524,290
Location	Church Avenue, Penwortham, Lancashire
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Website	St Mary, Penwortham
Architecture
Status	Parish church
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade II*
Designated	11 November 1966
Architect(s)	E. G. Paley (rebuilding of nave and aisles)
Architectural type	Church
Style	Gothic, Gothic Revival
Specifications
Materials	Stone, slate roof
Administration
Parish	Penwortham
Deanery	Leyland
Archdeaconry	Blackburn
Diocese	Blackburn
Province	York
Clergy
Vicar(s)	Revd Chris Nelson
Laity
Churchwarden(s)	David Thornton, John Kay, Jill Howe
Flower guild	Maureen Thornton

St Mary's Church is in Church Avenue, Penwortham, Lancashire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Leyland, the archdeaconry of Blackburn, and the diocese of Blackburn. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.

The oldest part of the church is the chancel which dates from the 14th century. The west tower was built in the 15th century. The nave and aisles were rebuilt in 1855–56 by the Lancaster architect E. G. Paley. As part of the restoration the roof was raised, and the north and west galleries were removed. Between 2009 and 2011 the church was reordered, under-floor heating was installed, and the pews were replaced by chairs.

St Mary's is constructed in stone and has a slate roof. Its plan consists of a four-bay nave with north and south aisles, a south porch, a chancel, and a west tower. The tower has diagonal buttresses and a battlemented parapet with pinnacles. On its west side is a doorway, above which is a three-light window with Perpendicular tracery. Over the window is a niche with an ogee head and crocketed pinnacles. The bell openings have two lights and are louvred. On the sides of the nave are five two-light windows. There is a blocked priest's door in the south wall of the chancel, above which is a stone inscribed with the date 1653.