St Chad's Church, Poulton-le-Fylde

St Chad's, Poulton-le-Fylde
St Chad's Church from the south
St Chad's, Poulton-le-Fylde Location in the Borough of Wyre
53°50′50″N 2°59′32″W / 53.8472°N 2.9921°W / 53.8472; -2.9921
OS grid reference	SD 3482 3945
Location	Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
History
Status	Parish church
Dedication	Chad of Mercia
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade II*
Designated	23 September 1950
Architect(s)	Paley and Austin (1868) J. S. Crowther (1881–83)
Specifications
Length	113 feet 6 inches (34.59 m) (internal)[1]
Materials	Red sandstone with grey ashlar
Administration
Province	York
Diocese	Blackburn
Archdeaconry	Lancaster
Deanery	Poulton
Clergy
Vicar(s)	Martin Keighley

St Chad's Church is an Anglican church in Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire, England. It is an active parish church in the Diocese of Blackburn and the archdeaconry of Lancaster. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building. A church on the site was built no later than the 11th century and may have existed prior to the Norman conquest of England. The tower dates from the 17th century, and much of the remainder of the building from a major renovation in the 18th century, although some of the fabric of the original structure remains. Further renovation and additions took place in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries.

Soon after the Norman conquest, Poulton was granted to Lancaster Priory. In the 15th century, the church was given by Henry V to Syon Monastery in Middlesex. It returned to the Crown following the Dissolution of the Monasteries and from the 16th to the 20th century, the advowson (the right to appoint a parish priest)^A belonged to the Hesketh/Fleetwood family.

The red sandstone building is faced with grey ashlar and consists of a nave, chancel, square tower and a Norman-style apse. Its furnishings include a Georgian staircase, a Jacobean pulpit, box pews and hatchments. There are eight bells in the tower. Outside the church are the remains of a stone preaching cross.