St Silas
Blackburn, Lancashire
A 1900 building designed Paley & Austin of Lancaster and noted for its important heritage for its church fixtures.
Known locally as Pleasington Priory, the magnificent Grade I listed church of St Mary & St John the Baptist was built between 1816 and 1819 by the local squire, John Francis Butler, as a lavish thank-offering for surviving a near fatal accident. Designed by architect John Palmer before the Victorian Gothic revival, the building is architecturally stunning and uniquely houses the relics of the Roman martyr St Publianus beneath its altar, alongside spectacular stained glass windows saved from demolished local churches.