The Anglican Church of St. John the Evangelist on Burnley Road has been Bacup's Parish Church since 1837. The present building has something of an unusual floor, as it slopes markedly down from the back of the Church towards the alter. It opened for worship in 1883 and stands on the site of the original Church premises which partially collapsed in 1871 due to serious structural defects.

In fact the old building had been unsafe for many years before that, being described at the time as 'being in a most dilapidated condition and almost roofless'. Old photographs show strong timbers propping the walls! Occasionally referred to by earlier generations in a broad Lancashire dialect as 'Th'owd Parish Church' (The Old Parish Church), the original building was the first Anglican Church in Bacup and dated from 1788. By the time of its' collapse, there had been more than 7,000 burials in the Churchyard.

The main picture was taken from Burnley Road and shows the front of the Church. The war memorial may just be seen in the centre of the grounds. The smaller picture (above) shows the rear of St. John's and was taken from the adjacent car park in Fern Street.

The image on the right shows the Church's north facing wall, again taken from Fern Street, but dating back to 1993. Extensive renovation work later became required on the entire Church building, and this work was completed in 2001.

In a census of Church attendance on 22nd January 1887, four years after the new Church opened, 616 worshippers were recorded at St. John's.

The Reverend Michael Holt was vicar at St. John's for many years until his retirement at the end of 2003. No permanent replacement has, as yet, been appointed.

Photographs © Ann Purdy 1993 and John Purdy 2004