St John the Baptist's Church, Blawith

St John's was designed by the Lancaster architect E. G. Paley and built in 1862–63. It is constructed in whinstone with a slate roof, and was built to replace an older church, also dedicated to Saint John the Baptist. Its plan consists of a nave, with a short chancel and a bellcote. The windows are lancets containing plate tracery.^[1] The church cost £1,600 (equivalent to £170,000 in 2025),^[2] and had seating for a congregation of 169 or 171.^[3] Its architectural style is Gothic Revival, and it contains stained glass windows in the chancel depicting the Ascension, the Presentation in the Temple, and the Adoration of the Magi.^[4] In 1914, Paley's successors Austin, Paley and Austin rebuilt the chancel arch and the top part of the east wall at a cost of £196,^[5] and in 1926 the same practice carried out repairs to the north and west walls, and added buttresses to the south wall of the nave.^[6] The church was declared redundant on 1 March 1988.^[7]

The ruins of the older church remain nearby, on the other side of the road (54.2847°N 3.0949°W / 54.2847; -3.0949). This church was built in the 16th century and it was rebuilt in 1749.^[8] It was "little better than a barn, of small dimensions, without a tower or steeple" and by 1861 was in "so ruinous a condition" that it had to be replaced.^[9] The remains consist of stone walls rising to a height of between 3 metres (10 ft) and 6 metres (20 ft), with a taller structure at the west end. The ruins are recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.^[8]

• Listed buildings in Blawith and Subberthwaite
• List of ecclesiastical works by E. G. Paley
• List of ecclesiastical works by Austin and Paley (1895–1916)