Rivington - Religion

Religion

Rivington was a chapelry in the ancient ecclesiastical parish of Bolton le Moors until it became a parish in its own right in 1856. Rivington Church is built on a hill known as Chapel Croft. An earlier chapel on this site was named in a deed by Margaret Pilkington and her son Robert in 1476. The parochial chapelry covered Rivington and the surrounding areas of Anglezarke, Hemshaws and Foulds. In 1628 a chapel was built "upon a little toft and quillet of land" by the local population and where divine service was celebrated "for many years of antiquity". The early 16th-century chapel was rebuilt in 1666 and altered and restored during the late 19th century. It is a small plain building built in sandstone with a bell turret. It is an Anglican church and is unusual in that it is not dedicated to any saint or martyr, referred to simply as Rivington Church.

Rivington Unitarian Chapel was built with a bellcote of local stone in 1703. Originally founded as a Presbyterian church and became Unitarian in the late 18th century. The chapel, which retains its box pews, was restored in 1990. Both churches are listed buildings and active places of worship.