The Church of St John the Evangelist, Abram in the County of -- Lancashire --

The Parish Church of St John the Evangelist
in the Parish of Abram

	The original Parish Church of St John the Evangelist

There has been a Church of England church building in Abram since 1838; prior to this it formed part of the parish of Wigan. The original building, shown in the pictures above and below, was prone to mining subsidence. A meeting was held in July 1907 to consider building a new Parish Church and in December 1907 the bell turret of the old church collapsed, the parish magazine says narrowly missing a lady just entering the church. A new tower was built in a different location and the bell itself was recast adding a considerable amount of metal to its weight (see below) but the incident was instrumental in advancing the idea for a new church to be built.

	The Parish Church of St John the Evangelist following rebuilding of the bell tower

However, it was not until 1935 that the necessary money had been raised for building to begin. The clock was bought in 1936, to mark the occasion of King George V's Silver Jubilee the previous year, with money raised by public subscription. The new building was consecrated in January 1937.

The following three photographs are by kind permission of Andrew Meadows. The first shows the interior of the old church; the second, a rare view of the old and new church next to each other; and the third, the current church.

	St John Abram - interior of the old church

	Old and new churches side by side

	The current building, dating from 1937

	Front Cover of the Parish Magazine

	Back Cover of the Parish Magazine

	Inside the Front Cover of the Parish Magazine