St John and St Mary, Yealand Conyers

St John and St Mary
Yealand Conyers
Lancashire

The village of Yealand Conyers lays about seven miles North of Lancaster on the A6. It is home to two churches, one Roman Catholic, and one Church of England. A Friends Meeting house was built in 1692, and Yealand Conyers is notable in that up to this time, most of the village's population were Quakers.

St Mary (RC) can be found at the junctions of Snape Lane and Hyning Road at the South end of the village. Built around 1852, its design can be attributed to Paley of Lancaster (of Paley and Austin fame) It is a grade II listed building, and built on the site of an earlier church (possibly dating from 1782)

The church has an open double bellcote, although only one now has a bell hanging in it. Local legend has it that during the persecution of those who continued to follow the Catholic faith, a priest would quite often be hidden in nearby Leighton Hall. Before the church was built, the chapel at Leighton Hall would quite often be used for worhip.

There is a car park next to the church yard for closer inspection.

The Church of St John lays to the North East of the village down Kylbarrow Lane, only a few hundred yards off the A6. The church, again a Grade II listed building, was erected in 1838, and has undergone expansion and rebuilding in 1861 and 1882.

The church has a 'stout' West tower and is altogether larger than its compatriot St Mary.

St Johns was elevated to Parish Church status on the 25th of September 1870, before which time it was a chapelry to St Oswald in Warton. There is very little parking here. Both churches appear to be kept locked, except for services.

For further information on Yealand, see this link.