Preston Heritage Weekend – Diary Saturday 9th September 2017 St Wilfred’s Church

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My second to the last tour on the first day of Preston’s Heritage weekend was a visit to this lovely church dating back to 1793, though heavily rebuilt in the Victorian era. Its founder, a priest called Father Daddy Dunn also brought gas lighting and power to Preston, the first town outside London granted such a luxury. At first the gas lamps stayed on all day and night because Dunn never figured out how to switch them off. Of the three churches I visited over the weekend this was the one offering the warmest welcome with free guide books, refreshments and biscuits. The rapid rise in the population due to the cotton mill work promise of the industrial revolution meant the need for more churches. In early records the church name was mis-spelt as St Winfred’s. The opening of the church was celebrated with a performance of Handel’s Messiah and other works. In 1839, neighbouring land was bought to use for doubling the size of the building, again due to rapidly expanding population. The brightly coloured paintings and statues depicting religious scenes, especially relating to the crucifixion are stunning, and often the statues look extremely life-like, as if they might burst into animatronic activity. In contrast, a wooden carved statue of St Wilfred carved by Fenwick Lawson in the 20th century makes him look like he has been turned into a tree. Internally the Victorian Church resemble late 14th century Renaissance in its architecture, with marbles imported from Belgium, imitations of Venetian churches and palace, Corinthian pillars and columns. The church boasts some truly gorgeous stained glass, mostly created by Franz Mayer & Company, who operated in London and Munich. Arthur Chappell