The Roman Catholic Church of St. Hubert’s was built to the design of Edward Pugin, from, it is believed, with the winnings of the racehorse Kettledrum owned by Colonel Charles Towneley of Towneley Hall, Burnley in the 1861 Epsom Derby.
The church was opened on 2 May 1865 by Richard Roskell the then Roman Catholic Bishop of Nottingham. The medieval font was originally from the ancient church at Burholme near Whitewell.
The east and west windows are by J. B. Capronnier of Brussels and date from 1865. In its early years, the church was served by the Jesuit Order, from Stonyhurst. The middle west window depicts St. Hubert who is the patron saint of hunters, as a huntsman accompanied by a stag.
There is a gabled northwest porch, a sacristy giving off the south side, and a bellcote holding one bell at the west end. The walls have a perimeter plinth and are buttressed at the corners of the nave and around the apse, and there are stone hoodmoulds over the lancet windows. At the west end are triple lancet windows, over a high continuous sill. The roofs are of slate; the original decorative ridge tiles have been lost.
The Forest of Bowland was once a royal hunting forest, and according to legend St. Hubert’s conversion to Christianity took place on a Good Friday when, while hunting a stag, he saw a vision of a cross between its antlers and heard a voice telling him to seek instruction in the Christian faith.
Paul.
The church was opened on 2 May 1865 by Richard Roskell the then Roman Catholic Bishop of Nottingham. The medieval font was originally from the ancient church at Burholme near Whitewell.
The east and west windows are by J. B. Capronnier of Brussels and date from 1865. In its early years, the church was served by the Jesuit Order, from Stonyhurst. The middle west window depicts St. Hubert who is the patron saint of hunters, as a huntsman accompanied by a stag.
There is a gabled northwest porch, a sacristy giving off the south side, and a bellcote holding one bell at the west end. The walls have a perimeter plinth and are buttressed at the corners of the nave and around the apse, and there are stone hoodmoulds over the lancet windows. At the west end are triple lancet windows, over a high continuous sill. The roofs are of slate; the original decorative ridge tiles have been lost.
The Forest of Bowland was once a royal hunting forest, and according to legend St. Hubert’s conversion to Christianity took place on a Good Friday when, while hunting a stag, he saw a vision of a cross between its antlers and heard a voice telling him to seek instruction in the Christian faith.
Paul.
