The Benefice of St John the Baptist, Low Bentham and
St Margaret, High Bentham

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A History of The Church of St. John the Baptist Low Bentham

St John the Baptist Church is one of the oldest churches in the area. Its existence was noted in the Domesday Book of 1086. As it is located near the point where the Roman road from Ribchester towards Casterton forded the River Wenning it is quite possible that Christ has been worshipped on this spot since the Roman occupation. Over the centuries the church has been part of the Diocese of Lichfield, Chester, Ripon and now Bradford.
The Saxons worshipped here as is witnessed by the remains of a Saxon cross that was discovered buried in the wall of the tower during one of the nineteenth century restorations. Tax records from the fourteenth century show that the church was excused taxes by Edward II because it had been almost totally destroyed by fire after the battle of Bannockburn in 1314.  Blackened stones in the tower wall serve as evidence of this violent period. The church was rebuilt in the mid fourteenth century.  Within the church is a display of Tudor glass from the Featherstone window.  This is the oldest glass in Bentham and the second oldest in the Deanery and similar to some in York Minster.
We were fortunate in having Revd Edgar Sherlock followed by Revd Frederick Walker Joy as rectors of the church during the late nineteenth century. The earlier church, built about 1822, deteriorated rapidly and R. Norman Shaw R.A. was commissioned to design the current church in 1870s.  The tower and chancel arch are the only parts of the building to survive the ravages of time. Both Rectors were men of vision and worked tirelessly to save and record all of interest for future generations.  Anyone now visiting the church can purchase a guidebook, written by Peter Marshall, and spend an absorbing time looking at various monuments.  These include; an ancient coffin slab set in the tiles on the north side of the sanctuary dating from about 1340 the Saxon crucifix mentioned earlier, the Kirkbeck stone dating from the 17th century, a fifteenth century bell hanging in the porch and numerous plaques and memorials dating from seventeenth century to the nineteenth century.
The six bells by Taylor and Son of Loughborough have an aggregate weight of 3 tons 7 cwts and 24 lbs (3400kg) and are reputedly the heaviest peal of six bells in the County.  The fine reredos is in Caen stone with marble panels.  The font was designed by W.R. Lethaby who later became surveyor of Westminster Abbey, having trained as a pupil of Norman Shaw
The old organ (now no longer playable) was originally a ‘house organ’ built for Walker Joy (Revd Frederick Walker Joy’s father) in 1855 by William Hill of London.  Walker Joy (a prosperous oil merchant) lived in Leeds and his brother (David Joy), an engineer, designed a hydraulic engine to pump the bellows making this the first ever to be blown by mechanical power.  W.R. Lethaby designed the organ case.  The organ was donated to our church from Walker Joy’s Leeds home in about 1879 and enlarged by Isaac Abbot in the 1880s. The organ is no longer playable and has been replaced by a digital organ.
The churchyard contains many interesting memorial dating from the early eighteenth century. One, almost beneath the east window, is dedicated to the Wray family.  Thomas Wray was the father of another Thomas who became Chaplain to Archbishops Hutton and Secker of Canterbury. On the right ten yards west of the tower is a memorial to Robert Poole (gravedigger) that consists of a sculptured shovel leaning against a tree stump. A beautiful sundial adorns the south wall.
Visitors are welcome.  The church is usually open during the morning and afternoon.

A History of The Church of St. John Margaret of Antioch High Bentham to Follow