History of Our Church

The name Lund is derived from the 0ld Norse “lundr” and Old Swedish “lunder” meaning grove or a copse. The site of the church is very near to Danes Pad an old Roman Road. The first reference for a church as a place of worship was in 1349 when Sir William Clifton obtained a licence for an oratory. Little is known about Lund until 1550 when the church became the property of the King.

It is known that in 1662 the priest in charge the Rev Joseph Harrison was ejected at the time of the Restoration. From that time onwards, there was no regular curate until 1732 when a master from Kirkham Grammar School conducted the services.

Matt Hall a church warden from Kirkham in 1688 set up a “scandalous trough” for a font at Lund Chapel It is thought that this font is of Roman origin some 1,600 years old and that it had been a pagan altar.  On three sides there are sculptured images of pre-Christian mother gods the fourth side is rough-hewn which suggests that it stood against a wall.

 

In 1690 the Thirty Men of Kirkham paid £1 4s 4d (£1.27) for the repair of Lund Chapel. The bell dates from 1684.  By 1820 the old Chapel had fallen into disrepair.

The present church designed by the architect Robert Roper was erected in 1824. the chancel was added in1852 and the tower standing 60 feet in height and topped by an unusual turret, was completed in 1873.

Until 1840 Lund was part of the parish of Kirkham. It then became a separate parish dedicated to St John the Evangelist serving the villages of Newton -with -Scales, Clifton and Salwick. The first vicar of the Parish was the Rev Richard Moore who was appointed curate at Kirkham in 1815 and priest in charge at Lund in 1820, he died in office in1886 when he was 93 years old.

In 1983 the old reed organ was replaced by a new instrument. At the end of the 1980s the local council funded the purchase of land to extend the burial ground and to create a car park on the northern boundary, of which a stone wall was erected. After the 150th anniversary in 1990 there was a memorial put in church dedicated to the men of the Parish who fought and died in World War II. Then early this century there was a major re- ordering of the church and a small extension was built.

Christ Church Oxford are the patrons which means they have the right to present the vicars of the Parish who have been -

  • 1820 - Richard Moore M.A.
  • 1886 - Charles Fullerton Smith M.A.
  • 1923 - Edwin F Stoney M.A.
  • 1948 - Alfred E Goode B.A.
  • 1956 - John H Norris M.A.
  • 1972 - Peter D Mitchell B.A.
  • 1981 - Stephen Malkinson
  • 1994 - Keith Brigham
  • 1999 - Giles D Allen
  • 2014 - John L Bannister MA
  • 2022 - Deborah Larkey
  • 2023 - Shaun Baldwin