Dunsop Bridge - St. Hubert's Church

St. Hubert's Church

The Catholic church of St. Hubert’s was built to the design of Edward Pugin, from, it is believed, the winnings of the racehorse Kettledrum owned by Colonel Charles Towneley of Towneley Hall, Burnley in the 1861 Epsom Derby The Toweneley stud was at nearby Root Farm. The Towneleys' agent and an early patron of St Hubert's, Richard Eastwood, is entombed outside the front entrance to the church.

The church was opened on 2 May 1865 by Bishop Richard Roskell of Nottingham. The medieval font was originally from the ancient church at Burholme near Whitewell. The east and west windows are by J. B. Capronnier of Brussels and date from 1865. In its early years, the Church was served by the Jesuit Order, presumably from nearby Stonyhurst.

The middle west window depicts St. Hubert who is the patron saint of hunters, as a huntsman accompanied by a stag. The Forest of Bowland was once a royal hunting forest. According to legend St. Hubert’s conversion to the Catholic faith took place on a Good Friday when, while hunting a stag, he saw a vision of a cross between its antlers and heard a voice telling him to seek instruction in the Christian faith. In 705, he became Bishop of Maastricht, later of Liege.